Roy’s fury at Benteke bungle
Striker snatches ball from Palace’s penalty taker... and misses last-gasp spot-kick
ROY HODGSON angrily singled out Christian Benteke after the striker selfishly stole the ball off Crystal Palace’s regular penaltytaker Luka Milivojevic in stoppage time — then missed.
The £32million man’s soft shot was saved by Bournemouth goalkeeper Asmir Begovic, as Palace threw away their chance of three valuable points against relegation rivals at Selhurst Park.
Milivojevic had already convincingly scored a spot-kick in the first half, having never missed a penalty in the Premier League. But when he picked up the ball after Wilfried Zaha was dubiously brought down by Bournemouth defender Charlie Daniels, Benteke took it off him.
The Belgian wanted the headlines for himself. Well, he got them. The 27-year-old’s act of selfishness left the home side’s fans and their manager furious as instead of taking a big step towards safety, they are now bottom of the table.
As Hodgson walked to the tunnel, he was stopped by a supporter who wanted to know why he told Benteke to take the spot-kick instead of Milivojevic. The Palace boss was just as baffled as him.
‘Why did Benteke take the penalty? I don’t know the answer,’ Hodgson said. ‘We expected Luka to take it. He’s our designated taker.
‘He (the fan) was asking why Benteke had been told to take the penalty. I was telling him he hadn’t. Benteke got hold of the ball. It was a unilateral decision, no one on our team was able to wrest the ball from him.
‘We, the management, don’t expect players to change those decisions. We tried to shout out our instructions, they obviously didn’t reach the penalty spot.
‘The reason he was booed off was because the fans, having seen us work as hard as we did in the second half and swarm around their penalty area, saw the referee blowing for the penalty and thought we’d won it. When the guy misses, he has to accept he’ll be booed off.’
That may be the main talking point but another is how Zaha won not one but two penalties, both of which Bournemouth felt were soft.
Referee Kevin Friend awarded the second after contact by Daniels but the visitors felt Zaha made a meal of it. The decision could have cost Eddie Howe’s side dearly and it remains to be seen whether the FA will look into it further. ‘Charlie got the ball,’ Howe said. ‘That really hurts, last seconds of the game... it would have been really hard on us.
‘The first one [a foul by Begovic on Zaha], talking to the players, they feel it’s not clear-cut and could have gone either way.
‘I’m taking my players’ words. You don’t want to see diving in the game. If there is something to be viewed, I’m sure the authorities will view it. You don’t want to see any team cheating intentionally.’
While the controversies will dominate today’s headlines, the second of Jermain Defoe’s two goals should not be forgotten.
The legs may have significantly slowed but the technique was timeless from the 35-year-old as his Marco van Basten-esque volley ultimately secured Bournemouth this point. The visitors were trailing 2-1 when Defoe, from a tight angle, twisted and directed a shot that dipped up and down over Julian Speroni. It was a thing of beauty.
‘He’s got no right to score,’ Howe said. ‘It just shows the tremendous talent he has. We hope this is a start for him. This was a big day for him.’
Hodgson’s side came out swinging at the start. Zaha in particular had Bournemouth trembling whenever he made a dash for goal.
Yet the wind was knocked out of their sails in the 10th minute when Defoe finished off a manoeuvre direct from the training ground. A one-two between Andrew Surman and Junior Stanislas from a corner led to the ball being cut back for Defoe, who easily escaped his marker. Defoe had scored just once all season and that was back in September. This gave him confidence and was the 200th league goal of his career.
Shortly before the break, Palace were gifted a way back into the game when Friend awarded them their first penalty. Zaha broke through and knocked the ball beyond Begovic, who clipped his leg. The 25-year-old may have already been on his way down but Milivojevic stepped up and smacked it in for 1-1.
That was in the 41st minute. In the 44th, Palace took the lead when Yohan Cabaye’s low cross crept to the back post, where substitute Scott Dann slid in to score. They had their turnaround.
Yet any Bournemouth fans who left to beat the half-time queues for a pie and a pint made a mistake. The real treat was about to come on the pitch.
It was first-half stoppage time and Andros Townsend unleashed a shot from distance that tested Begovic. Twenty five seconds later, there was an equaliser at the opposite end.
A ball over the top from Lewis Cook saw Defoe chase, before volleying and beating Speroni.
The striker had his chance for a hat-trick in the second half but it was not to be, as Benteke’s penalty became the talking point.