WHY ZAHA MUST BE GIVEN MORE PROTECTION FROM THE CLOGGERS
THE words were different but the message was the same. Down the corridor at the John Smith’s Stadium, Wilfried Zaha had just put it in blunt terms, claiming that only a broken leg would force officials to recognise his rough treatment at the hands of opponents. His manager, Roy Hodgson, was a little more measured. ‘Like Pep Guardiola, I do think players who run with the ball, who are fast and direct, need to be protected,’ he said. ‘They need to have the fouls that they earn given and they need to be given the protection so people don’t get the opportunity to deliberately foul them early on in order to intimidate them.’ It was, perhaps, easier for Hodgson to strike a more diplomatic tone. Zaha was left seething in the first half after being cynically brought down by Huddersfield defender Zanka, a tackle which earned the Dane a yellow card. The Palace talisman’s furious reaction was not lost on the home support, who spent the rest of the afternoon booing him. Moments later, with the red mist failing to clear, Zaha picked up a yellow of his own, going in late on Florent Hadergjonaj. Then he decided to let his feet do the talking. Picking up the ball wide on the left, Zaha glided past two defenders before firing into the far corner for the only goal of the game. It was the perfect response. While the jeers did not exactly turn to cheers, there was applause from sections of the home support. There is a view in certain quarters that football is a physical sport and the best players need to be able to mix it. That getting kicked early on is some kind of rite of passage for those with the ability to change games. But there has to be sympathy because this is a familiar story for the Ivory Coast man. This season, Zaha has been fouled 11 times in four matches. Since the start of 2015-16 he has drawn more free-kicks than any other Premier League player. Hodgson, who has previously called for protection for Zaha, was wary of sounding like a broken record — and asked the press to make the point for him. ‘Those things should really be said by people other than myself,’ he said. ‘I think people know the answer but if I say it there’s a chance for people to suggest I’m asking for favours or complaining unnecessarily. ‘You watch the games and if you think that’s happening it would be a much stronger message coming from a journalist rather than a coach whose message will be diluted because he’s got one eye on his own team.’ Hodgson’s comments were echoed by midfielder James McArthur, who at one point intervened to calm Zaha down. ‘Wilfried gets treated quite unfairly,’ he said. ‘He gets so many kicks and because he gets so many kicks, he goes down. People think he goes down too easily, but he doesn’t.’ Palace have lost their last 12 top-flight matches in which Zaha has not played, and his impact is not lost on McArthur. ‘If people try to wind him up, that shows the talent he’s got and how important he is to the team,’ he said. ‘If he wasn’t any good, people wouldn’t try to wind him up. He’s doing brilliantly.’ Zaha’s strike, on his return from a groin injury, left the battling
hosts still seeking a first victory of the season. This time last year, Huddersfield had eight points and were well on their way to a shock survival. With just two to their name this time around, would beating the drop for a second time be an even bigger miracle? ‘No,’ said manager David Wagner. ‘I don’t think we should make the mistake to compare last season with this season. ‘We said before the game, if we can win and have five from five games we would have had a very good start. We unfortunately didn’t collect the points but we performed very well.’ Huddersfield created plenty of chances but lacked the quality to finish them. If they are to stay up, it is a trend that cannot continue. ‘This is the truth and the only ones who can change it are us,’ Wagner added. ‘We have to score and we didn’t do it again.’ HUDDERSFIELD (5-4-1): Lossl 6; Hadergjonaj 6, Zanka 6 (Depoitre 78min), Schindler 6, Kongolo 6, Lowe 6.5; Billing 7, Van La Parra 5 (Mbenza 78), Mooy 6.5, Kachunga 6 (Diakhaby 68, 5); Mounie 5.5. Subs not used: Hamer, Smith, Williams, Pritchard. Booked: Zanka. Manager: David Wagner 6. CRYSTAL PALACE (4-3-3): Hennessey 6.5; Wan-Bissaka 6, Tomkins 7, Sakho 7, Van Aanholt 6.5; Milivojevic 6.5, Kouyate 6.5, McArthur 6; Townsend 6.5 (Schlupp 90), Ayew 6, ZAHA 7.5. Subs not used: Guaita, Ward, Meyer, Sorloth, Kelly, Riedewald. Scorer: Zaha 38. Booked: McArthur, Zaha. Manager: Roy Hodgson 7. Referee: Lee Mason 5. Attendance: 23,696.