Ings to rescue for Southampton as Palace are left cursing luck
For 73 minutes here, Roy Hodgson could hardly have looked less troubled if he was taking a leisurely stroll down the nearby River Itchen. Yes, his Crystal Palace team had seen 40 per cent of the ball and injuries had deprived them of seven first-team regulars, but a typically well-executed set-piece had brought them the game’s only goal and Southampton were still yet to muster a shot on target.
It was all shaping up into the perfect explanation for how Palace could have scored only 18 goals all season and yet still be far more likely to end up in Europe next year than the Championship.
And then Luka Milivojevic rather innocuously played the ball to Martin Kelly and what should have been a routine pass across the defence was miscued into the path of Danny Ings. With seven goals in his previous seven starts, Palace could not have wished for a worse recipient of a misplaced pass and Ings duly salvaged a draw.
Hodgson was unsurprised to see Ings score once he had a clear sight of goal – “you know he has the technique” – but made a point of repeatedly expressing pride in how his players had coped this Christmas amid all the injuries. He also stressed that Kelly had been forced recently to play out of position at right-back. It maintained
Southampton’s positive recent run and further extended their buffer now to four points from the relegation zone. “It was another big step forward – a good signal for the next fixtures,” said their manager Ralph Hasenhuttl.
Palace have not lost this season to a team in the bottom half of the Premier League – and it was quickly easy to see why. Rock-solid defensively, but always still an attacking threat whether through the pace and skill of Wilfried Zaha or their aerial power at set-pieces.
They were desperately unfortunate not to take the lead even earlier. Zaha had turned Southampton’s defence inside out before brilliantly picking out Max Meyer to finish past Alex McCarthy. Replays suggested that Zaha may have been just a few millimetres offside, but even a lengthy VAR review seemed inconclusive.
Level? Just onside? Just offside? Different camera angles supported different views. Clear and obvious it was not, and so it was a considerable surprise when referee Andy Madley then signalled that the goal had been ruled out by his VAR Matthew Wilkes. “We didn’t have the VAR god on our side,” said Hodgson.
Palace did still soon take the lead when Nathan Redmond brought down James McArthur and Milivojevic’s free-kick was powerfully headed past McCarthy by James Tomkins on what was his 350th career appearance. Southampton tried to respond – and Ings did hit the side-netting – but looked completely out of ideas just as Kelly gifted them an equaliser. It might also have sparked an even more unlikely turnaround, with Southampton then pressing for a winner and forcing a series of crucial saves by Vicente Guaita.
“What my team did in the last 20 minutes physically and mentally was outrageous – it was a really fantastic fight we showed,” said Hasenhuttl who, ahead of the visit of Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday, is urging rather more noise from the home supporters. “It could be a little louder before we scored the first goal, but in the end it was fantastic,” he said.
“Always when we score it is unbelievable. Maybe we can put this level from the first minute.” Southampton (4-4-2) McCarthy 6; Soares 6, Stephens 6, Bednarek 6, Bertrand 6; Boufal 5 (Armstrong, 68), Ward-Prowse 6, Højbjerg 6, Redmond 6; Adams 5 (Djenepo, 63), Ings 7. Subs Yoshida, Vestergaard, Romeu, Smallbone, Gunn. Booked Ward-Prowse. Crystal Palace (4-5-1) Guaita 8; Kelly 5, Tomkins 7, Sakho 7, Riedewald 6; Meyer 7 (Kouyate, 84), McCarthy 6, Milivojevic 6, McArthur 6, Zaha 6; Ayew 6. Subs Hennessey, Wickham, Camarasa, Woods, Pierrick, Daly. Booked Milivojevic, McArthur. Referee Andy Madley (West Yorkshire).