STING INGS
Team...C...P..a..l.a.xceT...e.a0mS..o.’.t..o.n ..... x.2 Danny’s joy as Za jinx strikes
A NIGHTMARE nine became a terrifying for Crystal Palace.
TEN That is how many Premier League games their superstar Wilfried Zaha has missed since the start of last season.
And guess what? The Eagles have lost every one of them. Yes, they boast a shocking 100 per cent record of wretched failure without their record goalscorer.
No wonder, then, the news before kick-off that Zaha was out with a groin problem sent shudders through the Palace faithful.
No Wilf, no will, no chance of winning. That’s the opinion in these parts and, to be brutally honest, Roy Hodgson’s troops did nothing to suggest that is harsh.
You must rewind two years to find the last time they tasted victory in Zaha’s absence.
Only when trailing to an opportunist second-half
Danny Ings’ strike for Southampton did the
Eagles get a head of steam up yesterday.
But it was way too little too late as Mark
Hughes’ strugglers eventually sealed their first victory of the campaign through Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg
(right) in added time.
Hodgson said: “We will have to wait for another chance to get the monkey of our back that Palace can’t win without Zaha.
“I can’t argue with the stats and I’m aware of the record. Until we do win without him, people will hit us over the head with it. That’s fair, we have to live with it.”
By contrast, St Mary’s supremo Hughes could hardly have been happier after this third win in 12 Premier League matches in charge, hailing his side’s efforts – and Ings’ class in front of goal.
Sparky said: “We are delighted and thoroughly deserved the result. Palace responded to going behind but we never looked in much trouble.
“Danny is such a talented player with his link up play, but is also a goalscorer – a Johnny in the box who usually dispatches his chances. We knew what we were getting with him. He just needs a couple of years of regular football after all his injuries to show how good he is.”
The opening 45 minutes was arguably the worst excuse possible for a Premier League clash. Dreadful. Dull. Desperate. Take your pick. The less said the better.
Fortunately the second was the reverse, sparking into life immediately. Southampton’s most creative force, Cedric Soares, struck his umpteenth hopeful diagonal ball forward – and for once it paid dividends.
Defender Martin Kelly’s hesitancy was punished by the poacher’s instinct of Ings, who fired in his second goal since arriving from Liverpool. Suddenly, it was end-to-end thriller. James McArthur almost snapped the bar with a thunderous drive. On the hour mark, injured Saints man Shane Long was hooked for Charlie Austin, who endured a crazy three-minute spell. His first touch was goalbound until young Palace full-back Aaron Wan-Bassika handled it.
His intervention appeared to be ridiculous – but it turned good, as the Saints substitute’s weak penalty was easily saved.
As Palace searched for the equaliser at the death, they were caught on the counter with Dane Hojbjerg adding the killer second. an