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Att 37,886 with around 1000 away fans
Starting XI
Harper (6) Kadar (7) Williamson (8) Coloccini (6) Enrique (5 wthdrn inj) Nolan (3) Smith (4) Gutierrez (6 wthdrn 73 mins) Guthrie (5) Carroll (5) Lovenkrands (6 wthdrn 62 mins)
Subs; Krul, Tozer, ERD, Routledge (6) Ranger (7) Pancrate (4) Butt.
3 very necessary points to keep the chasing pack at bay again but a real struggle to get going all night and for me the worst 97 minutes of the season, just shading the Coventry match. However in years gone by we would probably have drawn or in some cases lost a match like this so a win is always a good result.
A bizarre starting line up, playing a left footed emerging young talent at right back, a debutant in the back 4 and no room for the other new signing Routledge. Hughton (Smith and Nolan?) deciding to play Guthrie on the ‘right’ and yet in the reserve/academy team we have a young talented specialist right back in James Tavernier.
As for the match itself, we took the lead via Carroll helping the ball goal wards from a corner on 20 minutes and sliced into the Gallowgate net by Palace defender Shaun Derry. Shortly afterwards a run forward from Enrique was halted in its tracks as he pulled up with a hamstring pull. Kadar reverted to his more natural left side and Pancrate came on at right back. There were half chances for both sides but at half time it was 1-0.
The second half was as bad as the first and very little to excite either set of fans. I would like to say fair play to the 1000 or so away fans that remained relatively vocal throughout despite learning before kick off that a 10 point deduction and administration awaits them.
Palace were allowed to threaten during the second half as we struggled to get any continuity in attack until the 1st minute of injury time when a slide rule pass from Routledge found Ranger running through and Ranger finished with aplomb at the Leazes end for his first goal in Black and White (his first at Coventry was in the yellow strip) and that was game over.
Onto Leicester for another important match on Saturday teatime, yet again on television and we await injury news on Enrique, Lovenkrands and Gutierrez.
