FA Cup 3rd Round
Selhurst Park, Croydon
Admission : £15.00
Programme: £2.50
Attendance: 19,967
After my lunchtime game at the London Stadium. I had planned to take in a game in the Essex Senior League, most likely at Mile End Stadium to watch Sporting Bengal United against West Essex. However, considering the likelihood of it taking a long time to board a tube out of Stratford after the game, I decided to take in another FA Cup match at a Premiership ground. And for me, not just any old ground, but a ground that, as a supporter of Charlton Athletic who started supporting the club whilst groundsharing at Selhurst Park, conjures some strong emotions within me - mostly, it has to be said, negative.
Selhurst Park is about a 15 minute walk from Selhurst, Thornton Heath or Norwood Junction train stations, and is quite unusual these days in that it is nestles in amongst suburban streets and tucked behind a small Sainsburys store, with the stadium's one tall grandstand standing proud high above the surroundings. A number of enhancements have taken place around the exterior since my last visit in 2013, making it look more modern and less tatty. A fanzone area has been installed in the car park behind the main stand, offering a place to mingle with drinks, a big screen, some club stores and various other activities. For this evening's match, I decided to sit in the Holmesdale Road stand behind the goal. In my early days attending Charlton's home games at Selhurst Park in the late eighties, I would usually watch the game from that end, which in those days was a large uncovered terrace. These days, it's by far the most impressive stand within the stadium, a large two tiered all-seater stand with excellent leg room, good elevation between rows and even as my seat was on the very back row at the top of the stand, the view was excellent and not too distant. Behind the other goal, there is just one tier of seating below hospitality boxes and a big screen attached to the roof. The main stand is situated along one length and is the most old fashioned stand, dating from the 1920's, and has old fashioned short floodlight pylons attached to the roof. A few pillars along the front would obstruct the view. The stand on the opposite side was allocated to away fans, and about two thirds of it was occupied by 5,800 fans coming down from North-East Lincolnshire. Views are not too bad from the front half of the stand, apart from some supporting pillars, but apparently views are very poor towards the rear of the stand - indeed I recall this to be the case when I was there in 2013, since when views have apparently become even worse from that area. A slightly shortened version of the usual programme was produced today, for a pound less than usual, and was more than good enough to preview the game and offering plenty of interesting articles to read.
Crystal Palace are keeping their noses above water in the Premier League so far this season, and were six points clear of the relegation zone, having won six and drawn four of their 21 league games so far. They would be massive favourites to win today, at home against a club three divisions below, in League Two. They were in 13th place, following ten wins and four draws from their 26 league games. To reach this round, Grimsby beat fellow League Two outfit, MK Dons 3-1 at home and then Chesterfield, of the National League, 0-2 away.
On a cool but dry evening, this match had a dramatic beginning, when Andrew Fox made a rash lunge at Andros Townsend. The referee played advantage, eventually showing a yellow card, but that was soon upgraded to a straight red card after consultation with VAR, to make what was already going to be a tough assignment for Grimsby a whole lot tougher, having 88 minutes left to play with ten men. Three minutes later, the home side had a shot cleared off the line, and whilst they did plenty of attacking throughout the first half, Grimsby were holding their own, defending well and aided with some good fortune at times, and they went into half-time on level terms.
The second half continued in a very similar pattern, with Crystal Palace dominating for long periods, doing almost all of the attacking, but were denied by the woodwork, deflections and shots just wide of the mark. Grimsby never really looked like scoring themselves, as they focused on keeping their hosts at bay, but through a combination of luck and judgement, it was looking like Grimsby might just hold out for a replay, Crystal Palace scored the winning goal just four minutes from time, when Jeffrey Schlupp dinked in a free kick from just outside the outer corner of the penalty area, and Jordan Ayew headed home. Grimsby did manage to mount a couple of attacks in the closing minutes, with a shot from the edge of the penalty area going just over the bar in added on time, but Crystal Palace held on for a narrow win, which they certainly deserved, having dominated the match, with 34 shots (albeit only 7 on target) and 76% possession. But Grimsby fully merited the standing ovation they received, not only from the travelling fans, but also then the home fans, after a display full of courage, and it was impossible not to feel for them, having come so close to forcing a replay despite the three division gap in status between the clubs, and playing almost all of the match with ten men.
Video highlights of this match can be viewed by clicking here.
No comments:
Post a Comment