ANT DECKS ROY & CO WITH SCREAMER
By Tom Hopkinson
And just to rub salt into the Crystal Palace wounds, both men were perhaps fortunate to be on the field at the time they got their goals.
Former Palace star Murray was initially named among the Brighton substitutes and only started because Florin Andone injured a thigh late on in the warm-up.
Murray duly gave the visitors the lead with a thumping finish midway through the first half after Lewis Dunk’s hoof downfield caught the wind and caused James Tomkins problems.
If that was a good goal then Knockaert’s 20-yard curling effort, after Luka Milivojevic had levelled from the penalty spot, was even better.
But Knockaert, too, could have been on the sidelines by the time he bagged his 74th-minute winner. Firstly, because referee Craig Pawson might have shown him a red card just 28 seconds into the game.
That late challenge on Milivojevic – the quickest Premier League booking of the season – brought only a yellow.
And, secondly, because Chris Hughton had already decided to send on Solly March as a replacement for the Frenchman and would have taken him off if the ball had gone out of play before the goal.
Asked if he’d already decided to withdraw Knockaert, Hughton said: “Yes. And probably once he scored there was more reason to take him off because Solly is a different type of player and I knew we had to do more defending.”
Hughton added: “It’s a big win. I know the nature of the game, a derby game, but for whatever that means, the three points means even more.”
Palace boss Roy Hodgson was upset with the challenge from Knockaert on Milivojevic but stopped short of claiming he should have been sent-off.
Hodgson said: “He committed a bad foul – I don’t think it was malicious, it was a winger’s tackle, he was over the ball – but I presume the referee gave him the benefit of the doubt.
“We were incensed by the challenge, I thought it looked like a dangerous one.
“My first instinct was to turn to Cheikh Kouyate to tell him to get warmed up.
“But, certainly, it was a fantastic goal he scored to win the game.”
Murray’s opener was his 100th league goal for Brighton but it only looked to be worth a point when Milivojevic equalised. It looked a soft penalty award from Pawson as Andros Townsend went down over Davy Propper’s outstretched leg.
But credit to the Palace skipper for keeping his cool despite the wind blowing the ball off the spot several times as he tried to place the penalty.
Palace thought they had earned a draw but Knockaert, with a last swing of the boot, had other ideas.
Joking, Murray said: “I’ve seen him do that a number of times in training and he always misses the target.”
Knockaert added: “It’s a special goal, a great feeling.”