Crystal Palace 0 Newcastle 0: Toon blow in top four hunt as battling hosts grab point but Zaha injury is huge blow
GARETH SOUTHGATE’S Saturday night treat was to witness Newcastle secure a sixth successive Premier League clean sheet.
Hardly the stuff to thaw the England manager’s numb feet on a night that felt more like the chilly north east than the middle of The Big Smoke.
But it is impressive for a club which used to leak like a London sewer every time they came this way.
Newcastle are no longer just there to fill away ends in the Capital anymore. They held Premier League leaders Arsenal at the Emirates just a few weeks back.
They have won at Tottenham and Fulham this season and now scrapped to a draw in deepest south London.
Newcastle visit struggling West Ham early next month which should turn up at least one more point in their pursuit of a top-four finish.
While it will please visiting boss Eddie Howe to see that formidable defence holding firm it doesn’t make for the most entertaining experience.
Understandably, Tuesday’s Carabao Cup semi-final first leg at Southampton on Tuesday is the talk of the Toon rather than a trip to gloomy Selhurst Park. Maybe the players were keeping their powder dry for that one instead of risking life and limb here.
But Dan Burn, Joelinton and record-signing Alexander Isak all had good chances to tuck this game away and failed to show the clinical edge that is needed to win cups and maintain pressure at the very top of the Premier League.
Palace meanwhile must be one hell of a frustrating team to support. Spirited resistance only to be sunk by one goal at Chelsea last Sunday.
JOIN SUN VEGAS: GET A FREE £10 BONUS WITH 100s OF GAMES TO PLAY AND NO DEPOSIT REQUIRED (Ts&Cs apply)
Three days later at home to in-form Manchester United, the game looked doomed only for Michael Olise to pull a stunning draw out of the bag at the death from a free kick.
You can only assume Olise had a slight knock to explain his place on the bench to face the team everyone wants to beat this season – Newcastle.
Against such a formidable defence, Palace boss Patrick Vieira needed every weapon at his disposal, including his dead ball specialists.
Instead of taking heart from that comeback against United, Vieira’s team seemed to shrink back into its shell. Yes, it’s a tough job containing Callum Wilson, Joelinton and Miguel Almiron but Palace seemed content to soak it up and try to hit Newcastle on the break.
That brought the steady heat of pressure on midfield and the home side’s back four and with that came niggly tackles and a growing resentment of ref Craig Pawson among the Palace fans.
Pawson made a number of minor errors but nothing to warrant the booing off he received at half-time. In fact, Palace centre-half Marc Guehi was lucky to still be playing at the break.
He had already been booked for one foul when he combined with team-mate Jeff Schlupp to put a painful squeeze on Wilson which could easily have resulted in a second yellow card.
Palace are an unenterprising bunch. But Wilfried Zaha is way past his best and needs replacing to unleash some spirit in attack.
After he limped out of action on 64 minutes to a bizarre hero’s send-off, sub Jean-Philippe Mateta brought a great save from Nick Pope with a low shot inside the box that was gaining height all the way towards the back of the net before an outstretched hand blocked the trajectory.
Newcastle were not at their best and are considered to be over-achieving this season with their place in the top four.
But at least they had a go, blessed with a front line that combines the power of Callum Wilson, the trickery of Almiron and a rejuvenated Joelinton.
Ironically the biggest test for Palace in the first half came from a thumping drive by Geordie left-back Burn from 15 yards out.
Joelinton also had a couple of chances but Newcastle’s strikers kept finding keeper Vicente Guaita too well-positioned to pose any real threat.
Club-record signing Isak did exactly the same thing with his first chance of the game after coming off the bench with 21 minutes to go – sending a powerful header directly towards Guaita instead of making the Palace keeper work for his money.
What Newcastle needed to put this stuttering game to bed was a big, experienced centre-forward to come on and throw his weight around.
But Chris Wood is now a distant memory for Toon fans having signed for Nottingham Forest 24 hours earlier in a sign that this club sees itself moving in higher quality circles as time progresses.
Wood had not scored many this season but his departure may have dented Howe’s armoury a little prematurely as they chase Champions League football next season.
Follow ALL the action with our live blog below…