Crystal Palace 1-2 QPR, 2/10/10There are some aspects of football that are unique to the
Jalen Ramsey T Shirts sport. Like the aroma of a steaming hot Pukka Pie before kick off, Ian Hollowayor the Monday morning feeling at work following a well earned 3 points. Or the pleasure of witne sing a 90th minute winner, the delirium of the psychotic nut-job toyour left that you call a fellow fan, the way you willinglyhug anyone nearby without eventhe knowledge of their name, but most importantly is thefact that you have stolen 3 points and there is no way back for the opposing team.Thats all well and good for those fans, but upon the other end of the spectrum lay a far more subdued bunch of miserable spectators, enviously staring at the crazed animals locked in their pens. Marmite. You either love it or hate it and last minute winners most certainly fall into that category.Marmite man, Neil Warnock
And sodoes QPR manager Neil Warnock. For years, he was hated by football while Sheffield United bo s. But having toned down his attitude somewhat, he took a break from the game after seeing his beloved United somewhat unfairly relegated from the Premiership, then sought after pastures new. The vacancy at Palace intrigued him and he settled into his new dugout seat with relative ease, leading the team to the play-offs in his first season. Warnock was being loved again by Palace fans and media alikeas we all saw a different side of the fiery lion-heart he once was.But that was in the past. Warnock left Palace when things looked bleak, we were unjustly battling relegation and fighting to build form following a points deduction. I think the term is jumped ship. He said he wouldnt leave us
Cooper Kupp Jersey and wanted to end his management career at Selhurst, but the hotseat at QPR came begging and with a transfer budget fit for a King, he duly left.But they still took Hill and Derry fromPalace for freeBut now onto the match itself. Warnock had whet his appetite for this encounter by once again speaking to the media about us and engaging in some mind games pre-match. He began by suggesting Palace were not where they deserved to be, perhaps challenging for the play-offs in his opinion would be closer to the mark. You could feel the embarra sment of all Palace fans sheepishly denying this allegation, indicating that we do in fact belong in the depths of the league due to under performing, especially away from home.Adding to that, he heaped an almighty amount of pre sure on wonderkid Wilfried Zaha by saying that he would fit right into any Premier League team. Considering he has played a handful of games for the side following a debut under Paul Hart last season at just 16, you would expect young Wilf to go into his shell a bit or even have a marred performance with all eyes on him. Having extended highlights on BBCs Football League show cannot have helped matters.Premiership quality at only 17But Warnock was right to point him out as one of our main threats. The pre sure to deliver had backfired as everyone witne sedWilfs ability as he laid Palaces equaliser on a plate for fellow rookie to slot home. Warnock had not identifiedKieron as a risk obviously.But Palace were facing a strong QPR side, deservedly top of the league after a blistering start. Jamie Mackie had 8 goals coming into the game and Adel Taarabt has a case for being the best
Taylor Rapp Jersey player in the league with an array of dribbling skills, capable of beating many Premiership defenders. 23 points from 9 games and unbeaten in the league, Rangers were looking for another team to simply brush away while Palace aimed to cause a mini upset and keep distance between themselves and the bottom 3. Without influential midfielder, Darren Ambrose, who Warnock tried to steal from Palace in the summer for next to nothing was unfortunately unable to broadcast his abilities and show the Rangers bo s what he had mi sed out on.However, the contest began against the odds, anAndrew Dormanshot rebounded off a post in the 4th minute as the Eagles began stronger. Rangers, like the post, were rattled and were thankful to keeper Paddy Kenny by making a swift double save from hotshot Zaha. Thankfully, the stopper was only fuelled by Lucozade having
NFL Los Angeles Rams Jersey returned from a drugs ban in April.It was then Speroni who was being called upon, reacting smartly to deny first Helguson then Taarabts fierce drive.Moments later,Mackie destroyed Palaces offside trap, leaving himself one-on-one with Speroni, ending in the latter expertly preventing a Rangers opener.Speroni was not the only one to thank however for saving Palace, as the post came to the rescue in front of the Holmesdale Road end. Confusion in the area resulted in Heidar Helguson beating one man before firing in a cro s/shot along the byline 6 yards from goal. Kaspars Gork s was in the thick of it but the ball actually came off of a defenders head as the ball cannoned off ofthe frame of the goal.Gork s was a thorn in Palaces side all matchWith seconds remaining in the first half, the ball fell loose in the QPR box, Palaces Dorman was first to it as he fired a goalbound effort into the legs of Clint Hill who himself had covered plenty of ground to dive infront of the attempt. Replays showed
Jordan Fuller Jersey that Kenny would have had no chance had ex-eagle Hill not been there. A corner was awarded and Dorman himself swung it in right footed, landing on the unmarked Julian Bennetts head, only to see it cleared off of the line, much to the despair of the home crowd.Half timearrived and with honours even the crowd were forced to watch the new Crystal Spirit cheerleaders. At least both sets of fans could agree on something at the end of the match and the girlsgave fans the chance to debateupon who was the most talented afterwards in the pub. I mean, who needs football at the end of the day, huh?Anyway, the second half began rapidly, perhaps too rapidly for the elderly Edgar Davids, who was making his home debut, as the Dutch legend lazily played aweak backpa s to Speroni, only for Mackie to anticipate and steal in. He rounded Speroni with relative ease, forced Bennett to commit, before teeing up the patient Taarabt to make it 1-0. Perhaps you should have gone to Specsavers, Edgar? Apologies.Are we in hoops or stripes?Having substitued Pablo Counago for Kieron Cadogan at half time, the long ball game was ineffective. Rangers simply outmuscledPalaces young attacking trio of Zaha,
AJ Jackson Jersey Cadogan and Djilali easily, and dealt with the ball in a much more efficient way than them,putting Palaceunder pre sure, constantly moving the ball forwards and threatening the goal Palace had peppered in the previous half. Meanwhile, Kenny was only troubled the once and not by the opposition. Hundreds of pieces of card had been launched onto the pitch after a pre-match demonstration in support of
The Wall