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Palace resigned to fate in lower ranks as United turn the screw
By Henry Winter | |
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Crystal Palace (0) 0 Man Utd (2) 3 THE Premiership picture was clarified at the bottom but mildly muddied at the top last night. Crystal Palace's home defeat, a recurring nightmare for them, saw them slide into the Nationwide League while United moved within a point of Arsenal, the championship leaders and overwhelming favourites. Goals from Paul Scholes, excellent throughout, Nicky Butt and Andy Cole gave United a deserved, routine victory on their first away meeting with Palace since Eric Cantona's leap into infamy. For all their hard work and, at times, delightfully flowing football, United are unlikely to catch Arsenal, who can secure their first title since 1991 if they beat Derby County tomorrow and Everton on Sunday. Palace leave the Premiership with memories of some neat football, primarily away from home, but their inability to defend, or retain possession in midfield, cost them their place among the elite. United needed only six minutes to expose Palace's defensive vulnerability at Selhurst Park. The visitors' control, and particularly the timing of their runs from midfield, proved devastatingly effective. Scarcely had a rare full house settled into their seats than United were ahead. Teddy Sheringham and Cole combined on the edge of the area, knowing that support would be arriving. Scholes appeared at speed, racing past Palace's defenders to strike a low, hard shot underneath Kevin Miller. Palace's defenders were so exposed because their midfield failed to provide any real protection, allowing United players to dash forward from the deep. Tomas Brolin, in particular, resembled a pedestrian attempting to cross the South Circular road with some heavy shopping. The game flashed past him again as another United midfielder, this time Butt, rushed through to score in the 21st minute. Cole, beautifully found by Ryan Giggs, clipped the ball across the box where Marc Edworthy's attempted clearance fell to Butt. One touch took the England midfielder through and the second sent the ball disappearing past Miller. Trailing by two goals in a game they had to win, Palace sought to find an unlikely escape route. Neil Shipperley worked enthusiastically upfront, occasionally bettering David May and Gary Pallister, but the support for him was not consistent enough. Attilio Lombardo attempted to inspire his team but his ambition was too often smothered by Scholes, again outstanding, and Butt in central midfield. Just before the half concluded, Palace's best two players, Shipperley and Lombardo, engineered an opening down the inside-right channel. Lombardo advanced threateningly but shot over. United, as they often do, dominated the minutes immediately after the interval. Cole went close, then Butt shot over, following a fine left-wing break by Giggs and Sheringham. Palace, to their credit, began to show signs of life. Edworthy, a good captain wasted in an unfamiliar stopper role, started waving team-mates forward. Michele Padovano dribbled from midfield but aimed his shot straight at Peter Schmeichel. Marcus Bent, otherwise engaged worrying about Giggs, delivered a superb pass which the eager Shipperley fractionally failed to reach. Moments later, the pair combined to more obvious effect, the move's developing promise lost when Shipperley's shot was blocked. But still Palace came on, desperate to cling to their Premiership status. Shipperley should have scored, when Schmeichel failed to hold Bent's drive, but he fired wildly over from yards out, a terrible act of profligacy that seemed to encapsulate much of Palace's season. United added a third five minutes from time. Scholes twice had efforts repelled, although Miller had no chance with Cole's follow-up, a straightforward tap-in. And so Palace bowed out of the Premiership, their home form handicapping them to the end. The club face a busy summer, sorting out their managerial and playing staff, not to mention the boardroom. _________________________________________________________________ Crystal Palace (0) 0 Man Utd (2) 3 Scholes 5, Butt 21, Cole 84. Crystal Palace: Miller, Edworthy, Gordon, Curcic, Lombardo (Hreidarsson 87), Shipperley, Padovano (Dyer 75), Brolin (Fullarton 68), Bent, Smith, Ismael. Subs Not Used: Warhurst, Nash. Booked: Ismael. Man Utd: Schmeichel, Irwin (Clegg 76), May, Pallister, Beckham, Butt, Cole, Sheringham, Giggs, Neville, Scholes. Subs Not Used: Van Der Gouw, Solskjaer, Berg, Thornley. Att: 26,180 Ref: P Jones (Loughborough). _________________________________________________________________ Soccer-United maintain pressure as Eagles plunge (Adds details, quotes) By Alan Baldwin LONDON, April 27 (Reuters) - Crystal Palace, the low-flying Eagles of the premier league, were relegated on Monday after being swept aside 3-0 at home by a Manchester United side determined to keep their title hopes alive. The result at Selhurst Park left United a point behind leaders and F.A. Cup finalists Arsenal, who have two games in hand and could wrap up the title at home against Everton next weekend if they also beat Derby County in midweek. "Arsenal are getting close, we just have to hope that there is a complete collapse," said United manager Alex Ferguson, refusing to pretend that his men have much chance. Palace, who have 29 points and three games remaining, cannot now catch Everton who are fourth from bottom on 39. The south Londoners were the first of the three teams promoted last season to make the trip straight back to the first division, with Barnsley and Bolton favourites to follow, and nothing on Monday suggested they deserved to stay up. The match programme harked back to a Palace glory night of 1972, when the home side beat United 5-0. But that sort of a scoreline would have been a miracle for a club with just one home league win this season and uncertainty over the future ownership and management. United were rampant in the first half with England's Paul Scholes racing into the area to get the first in the sixth minute with a right-footed shot. That silenced the taunts of "Arsenal, Arsenal." Nicky Butt made it 2-0 in the 22nd after Andy Cole and Teddy Sheringham combined while Scholes persistence and final diving header after his shot was parried set up Andy Cole's close-range tap-in for the third in the 84th. Palace were the only premiership club Cole had not previously scored against while the home side notched a first by becoming the first to be relegated three times since the premier league was established. Palace tried to make a bright start with player-manager Attilio Lombardo, who has said he will stand down as manager at the end of the season, forcing a save from Peter Schmeichel in the opening minute but the attack was short-lived. They were left wide open in defence with Swedish midfielder Tomas Brolin playing the complete misfit as he chugged sluggishly and aimlessly around for 68 minutes before being put out of his misery by a substitution. David Beckham had by then had a shot from 20 metres out palmed over the bar in the 30th and seen several other attempts skim just wide of the uprights as United shrugged off the malaise that has allowed Arsenal to set the pace. "The first 15 to 20 minutes was when United won it," said Palace coach Brian Sparrow. "That was probably some of the best football I've seen played against us all season." Palace, with their fans keeping up the volume, might have had a penalty in the second half when Michele Padovano went down and Neil Shipperly squandered his side's chance of the night off a Dean Gordon indirect free kick. Schmeichel parried but failed to hold the ball, Shipperly got the rebound but, with the goal gaping, smashed it over the bar. It neatly summed up much of Palace's season. © 1998 SportsLine USA, Inc. _________________________________________________________________ April 28 1998 FOOTBALL United's reign prolonged as Palace topple BY OLIVER HOLT, FOOTBALL CORRESPONDENT Crystal Palace ...0 Manchester United ...3 How they stand MANCHESTER United halted the prolonged capitulation they have staged in the race for the championship last night when they condemned Crystal Palace to relegation from the FA Carling Premiership and instilled a little hope into their fading attempts to retain the title that appears to have slipped from their grasp. Alex Ferguson, the United manager, said that it would take "an Arsenal collapse" for United to have any chance and the championship is still very much Arsenal's to lose. If they beat Derby County at Highbury tomorrow night, they need only repeat the feat against Everton in North London on Sunday to clinch what they hope will be the first half of the double. Last night, though, against a Palace team that has won only once at home all season and looked hopelessly ill-equipped for the task of clinging on to their lofty status, goals from Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and Andy Cole brought United back to within a point of the leaders. It ensured, at least, that Arsène Wenger and his Arsenal team will be feeling the pressure for the next two games rather than waltzing towards their coronation. "Unless there is a complete Arsenal collapse the title is still theirs," Ferguson said. "We should try and set out our stall to win our remaining matches and that may keep a little bit of pressure on them. The way they have been performing, I think they will probably win it in their next two home games. We just have to hope for that collapse. I do not see it, but football is such a funny game that you never know what might happen." Even if the championship does prove to be beyond them, their winning return to Selhurst Park restored some of the pride that they have lost and exorcised some of the bad memories they have of the stadium from their last match there against Palace, in January 1995, when Eric Cantona launched his infamous kung-fu attack on a supporter. This time it was Palace who suffered instead. Fielding the flimsiest of midfields, with an overweight Brolin and a dilettantish Curcic at its centre, they were overrun in the first half before steadying themselves a little in the second. To add to their misery, Ron Noades, the chairman, wrote in the match programme that if the takeover bid by Mark Goldberg failed, he would not bring Terry Venables to the club as coach next season. The match was finished as a contest midway through the first half. Lombardo, hapless as a player-manager but still a class above most of his team-mates, gave Palace false hope in the first minute when he waltzed through the United middle, nutmegging Scholes and skipping past May and then forcing Schmeichel into a diving save with a low, left-foot shot. That, though, was the last that was seen of the Palace attack for a while. The rest was all United. They created an avalanche of chances but managed to convert just two in the opening period. Only six minutes had gone when they grabbed the first. Sheringham slipped a short pass to Cole on the edge of the box and he threaded it into the path of Scholes, who hammered a shot past Miller from eight yards. Giggs should have added a second goal, when Beckham's crossfield pass split the defence, but he slipped as he shot and allowed Miller to save. Midway through the half, though, United achieved the inevitable when Butt picked up a loose ball that should have been cleared by Edworthy and lashed it seemingly through Miller, who had misjudged the trajectory. Sheringham, so out of sorts recently, missed a gilt-edged chance when he allowed Cole's clever cross to elude him three yards out. Then he compounded his error by glancing Giggs's cross wide from the edge of the six-yard box. Cole spurned the best chance of all five minutes after the interval. Butt found space on the right and swung in a cross that was begging to be dispatched. Cole met it, unmarked, five yards out, but somehow contrived to glance it wide. If that miss was glaring, Palace surpassed it 20 minutes from the end after Schmeichel dropped a free kick from Bent at the feet of Shipperley. He was four yards out and needed only to tap the ball over the line, but he scooped it over the bar instead. Even Schmeichel gave him a consoling pat on the back. After the season that Palace have endured, perhaps that was a fitting epitaph, but Cole finished them off in the 84th minute when he prodded a rebound from Scholes's header over the line from close range. CRYSTAL PALACE (4-4-2): K Miller - M Edworthy, V Ismael, J Smith, D Gordon - A Lombardo (sub: H Hreidarsson, 87min), T Brolin (sub: J Fullarton, 70), S Curcic, M Bent - N Shipperley, M Padovano (sub: B Dyer, 76). MANCHESTER UNITED (4-4-2): P Schmeichel - P Neville, D May, G Pallister, D Irwin (sub: M Clegg, 80) - D Beckham, P Scholes, N Butt, R Giggs - E Sheringham, A Cole. Referee: P Jones. Copyright 1998 Times Newspapers Ltd. _________________________________________________________________ United keep up the chase By David Lacey Tuesday April 28, 1998 At least the Premiership title will not fall into Arsenal's lap, not before Sunday anyway. Manchester United's comfortable victory over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park last night reduced the gap at the top to one point, which means that Arsenal will be champions if they win their home games against Derby County tomorrow and Everton four days later. "We just have to hope there's a complete collapse by Arsenal," said Alex Ferguson, the United manager, "but I don't see it." United now have only two matches left, at home to Leeds next Monday and away to Barnsley the following Sunday. Arsenal have two games in hand. All that was settled last night was Palace's third relegation from the Premiership in six years. In the end they sank with all guns blazing bravely, even if their aim was generally awry. Taking on United with a thinly-staffed defence and non-tackling midfield was always going to be the equivalent of going to sea in a sieve and goals from Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt virtually settled the contest in the opening 21 minutes. Andy Cole added a third towards the end but they should have doubled their score long before then. While the speed and accuracy of United's passing and movement took Selhurst's breath away, especially in the first half, both teams seemed to know their respective causes were lost. Even United's football had a festive, carefree air about it. No fat ladies were singing, yet the evening carried echoes of stable doors closing. United appeared to have recovered much of the form which deserted them in the New Year. Scholes and Butt were masterful, admittedly given the freedom of the park, while David Beckham and Ryan Giggs were back to their pre-Christmas form. Having at last won a Premiership match at home nine days earlier, Palace approached last night's game with a modicum of confidence. In the opening minute, as David May lost his footing, Attilio Lombardo surged through and Peter Schmeichel had to move quickly to deal with the Palace player-manager's low shot. Any home optimism, however, was short-lived. No sooner had United found their rhythm than they took the lead in the sixth minute. Following Schmeichel's long clearance Teddy Sheringham and Cole split the defence with a couple of brisk, intuitive passes, leaving Scholes to beat Kevin Miller. After 21 minutes Cole's pass was inadvertently touched on to Butt by Marc Edworthy and the United midfielder drove a low shot beyond Miller's reach. All that stopped United increasing their lead before half-time was their own profligacy combined with Miller's agility in the Palace goal. Not that Crystal Palace were out of the picture; far from it. Neil Shipperley, Michele Padovano and LomL bardo each shot high or wide when they might have scored. The problem for Palace was that, whenever a movement broke down, they were at the mercy of United's speed on the counter-attack. Lombardo and Sasa Curcic gave them momentum going forward but Butt and Scholes went back and forth past Tomas Brolin as if the portly Swede was a traffic bollard. Nevertheless Palace did achieve a period of attacking pressure after half-time which cheered up a Selhurst crowd long since resigned to another spell in the First Division. And they should have scored in the 68th minute when Schmeichel fumbled the shot from Dean Gordon which followed Lombardo's indirect free-kick. But Shipperley wafted the loose ball over. United completed their night's work in the 83rd minute when Scholes, having had his shot blocked by Miller, headed the rebound to Cole, who tapped the third goal over the line. All United can do now is wait and they may not have to wait long. Crystal Palace (4-4-2): Miller; Smith, Ismael, Edworthy, Gordon; Lombardo (Hreidarsson, 86min), Brolin (Fullarton, 68), Curcic, Bent; Shipperley, Padovano (Dyer, 75). Manchester United (4-4-2): Schmeichel; P Neville, May, Pallister, Irwin (Clegg, 78); Beckham, Butt, Scholes, Giggs; Sheringham, Cole. Referee: P Jones (Loughborough). Guardian _________________________________________________________________ Crystal Palace v Man United 27/04/98 8.00 Crystal Palace (0) 0 Man United (2) 3 FT Scholes 5 Butt 21 Cole 84 A rejuvenated Manchester United kept their title hopes flickering and at the same time turned out the Premiership lights for Crystal Palace. Goals from Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and Andy Cole gave United a convincing victory against a team which has now been relegated three times in six years. But as United boss Alex Ferguson applauded his team off the pitch how he must have wished they could have produced a few more spirited and effervescent displays such as this over the championship run-in. And how he must have yearned to play a side with such glaring inadequacies as Palace every week. No matter. Even allowing for the shortcomings of a desperate and demoralised Palace side, who have looked doomed for months, United were back to their exuberant, irrepressible best. Gone was the diffidence and lethargy which has done such irreparable damage to their title challenge. Gone was the frailty which has seen them struggle to despatch even mediocre opposition. And encouragingly for England boss Glenn Hoddle it was the United contingent of Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt, David Beckham and Teddy Sheringham, who have looked so out of sorts in recent weeks, who were at the heart of United's every enterprising move. The victory takes United to within one point of Arsenal, who admittedly have two games in hand and with four games left the north Londoners - bar a colossal collapse - should still cruise to their first Premiership title. But at least United gave their travelling support something to cheer. Indeed they signalled their intention to surge forward as early as the fourth minute when Nicky Butt crashed a powerful 20-yarder just too high. Palace, however, failed to heed the warning and when they wasted a throw-in just seconds later United pounced. Teddy Sheringham played in a shrewd ball for Cole, whose deft touch fell into the path of Paul Scholes. For a moment it looked as if the England midfielder had lost the chance with the ball stuck between his feet, but he dug it out to crash home a 10-yard shot past keeper Kevin Miller. It was always a mission impossible for Palace, who have won just one home league game all season and that against Derby nine days ago. The Londoners have stumbled from one farce to another in a season which started under the guidance of Steve Coppell and has finished with an Italian player-coach in Attilio Lombardo in charge who does not speak English - and an assistant-player coach in the rotund and vaguely bizarre shape of Tomas Brolin. Such a partnership was always a desperate throw. And their hopes of salvaging anything from this game disappeared when United made it 2-0 after 21 minutes, though this time Palace appeared to have just cause for protest. Palace player-manager Attilio Lombardo looked to have been hacked down from behind by David May, but referee Peter Jones waved play on. The ball was moved swiftly on to Butt who cruised forward unchallenged to fire a powerful 20-yarder past Miller. By now United were surging forward at will and could easily have gone in at half-time five goals ahead as Butt, Beckham and Giggs all squandered gilt-edged shooting chances. The second-half was a carbon-copy of the first with Palace throwing themselves forward in waves of kamikaze attacks, only to be picked off as United carved open their defence on the counter-attack. Cole should have scored with a completely free header from five yards, another flashing shot from Butt skimmed just over and Sheringham's crisp shot was turned away by Miller. But Palace, for whom Italian duo Lombardo and Michele Padovano battled bravely, should have got on the scoresheet themselves when Peter Schmeichel spilled Dean Gordon's free-kick only for Neil Shipperley to hook the ball over the bar from three yards. In truth so woeful were the Londoners in invention and accuracy, however, that they probably would not have hit the Millennium Dome. The only mystery was why United did not score a hatful but they did eventually give the scoreline more of a realistic complexion. The Palace defence cracked under intense pressure in the 84th minute when United's man-of-the-match Scholes slipped the ball across the face of goal for Cole to score his 24th and easiest goal of the season. For United the victory keeps their desperately frustrating season flickering for at least another six days when Arsenal can clinch the title at home to Everton if they beat Derby at Highbury on Wednesday night. As for Palace their season was past frustrating before the leaves had left the trees. They can only hope to regroup under a new manager and perform their party trick of bouncing back into the Premiership next season. It is becoming something of a speciality in this part of south London. Crystal Palace: (4-4-2) Miller, Edworthy, Gordon, Curcic, Lombardo (Hreidarsson, 87), Shipperley, Padovano (Dyer, 75), Brolin (Fullarton, 68), Bent, Smith, Ismael. Subs not used: Warhurst, Nash. Booked: Ismael. Man United: (4-4-2) Schmeichel, Irwin (Clegg, 76), May, Pallister, Beckham, Butt, Cole, Sheringham, Giggs, Neville, Scholes. Subs not used: Van Der Gouw, Solskjaer, Berg, Thornley. Attendance: 26,180. Referee: P Jones (Loughborough). |
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