Matt finish shows what Palace are missing as Hodgson draws a blank
WHAT Roy Hodgson would do for a full-back like Matt Doherty.
The Crystal Palace manager cannot buy a goal right now and watched his side fail to find the net for the fourth consecutive home game as they fell to defeat against Wolves.
His opposite number, Nuno Espirito Santo, on the other hand, can rely upon his right-back to break the deadlock when his Portuguese frontline is misfiring, such is their potency.
The Republic of Ireland international exchanged passes with Raul Jimenez on the righthand side of the box before slotting past Wayne Hennessey at his near post to seal victory after 56 minutes.
It’s not the first time he’s come up with the goods, netting four times in the Championship last season.
Nuno, who named an unchanged starting line-up for a record eighth successive Premier League match at Selhurst Park, knows that in Doherty he has a player who encapsulates the consistency that has fired them up to seventh in the table.
‘Matt has been doing his job since last season. He didn’t change the way he approaches the competition, he’s doing well,’ said the Wolves boss.
‘What I want is what Matt has been giving me and giving his team-mates. Not only on the offensive part but defensive setpieces. I think he’s a very, very important player.
‘He did goals last season so let’s try to repeat those goals because the team needs them, no matter who scores.’
Some need those goals more than others. For all the home side’s pressing, they never really looked like breaking the deadlock. Jeffrey Schlupp blazed over after latching on to a loose ball in the Wolves area, but apart from his effort Palace had nothing to show for their tentative passing around the box and their bundles of possession.
The second half played out in much the same pattern, Palace probing with neat, intricate play only to find no way through.
You sensed the inevitable was coming and it did, albeit from an unlikely source. For all their embarrassment of riches in the final third it was left to Doherty to find the breakthrough.
Hodgson’s side rallied but still fans at Selhurst Park are waiting for something to cheer this season. There were boos at full-time, a reaction that Hodgson fully understands.
‘I’ve never known fans come to watch football matches having seen their team play three games at home without seeing a goal, then after they have a fourth one, not being frustrated and disappointed by it,’ he said.
‘There is only one way out of the situation and that is to score goals in the next game.’
Wolves, who hit the bar through substitute Ivan Cavaleiro, have no such problems.
CRYSTAL PALACE (4-3-3): Hennessey 6; Wan-Bissaka 6, Tomkins 6, Sakho 6, Van Aanholt 6; Schlupp 5.5 (Sorloth 82min), Milivojevic 5.5, McArthur 6 (Meyer 63, 6); Townsend 6, J Ayew 6 (Kouyate 72, 6), Zaha 6. Subs (not used): Guaita, Ward, Kelly, Puncheon. Booked: McArthur, Kouyate, Van Aarnholt.
WOLVES (3-4-2-1): Patricio 7.5; Bennett 6.5, Coady 6, Boly 7; Doherty 7.5, Moutinho 6, Neves 6, Otto 6.5; H Costa 6.5 (Saiss 84), Jota 7 (Traore 87); Jimenez 6.5 (Cavaleiro 76). Subs (not used): Ruddy, Gibbs-White, Saiss, Hause, Bonatini, Traore. Booked: Coady, Moutinho, Otto, Cavaleiro. referee: M Oliver 7.