Palace slow West Ham charge towards top-four finish

Stoke let two-goal slip to hand Swansea a draw

LONDON, April 2, (Agencies): Cheikhou Kouyate’s dismissal proved the turning point as West Ham United’s charge towards a Premier League top-four finish was slowed in a 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace on Saturday.

After Damien Delaney had punished a mistake by Adrian to put Palace ahead in the 15th minute, West Ham equalised through Manuel Lanzini and then went ahead courtesy of another and final Champions League qualifying berth, with seven matches of the season remaining.

Palace remain seven points above the relegation zone, but although they are now without a win in 14 league games, manager Alan Pardew will have drawn encouragement from their second-half fightback.

With Emmanuel Adebayor sustaining a knock on international duty with Togo, Bakary Sako started up front for Palace and it was his freekick that led to the opening goal.

Sako’s cross appeared to be drifting away from danger, only for West Ham goalkeeper Adrian to palm it back into play, and Delaney headed home from a narrow angle.

It was the first goal West Ham had conceded at home in the league since January, but they quickly composed themselves and equalised three minutes later when Lanzini rifled in from Diafra Sakho’s knock-down.

The wind in their sails, West Ham twice went close to taking the lead, only for visiting goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey to thwart first Sakho and then Payet. Jason Puncheon squandered a glorious chance to put Palace ahead when he miscued from Pape Souare’s cross, before Sakho headed over at the other end after Hennessey failed to claim a Payet corner.

Payet’s set-pieces have been integral to West Ham’s fine form and he gave another display of his skill with a dead-ball four minutes from halftime by arcing an inch-perfect free-kick into the top-right corner.

Hennessey prevented Lanzini from swelling West Ham’s lead, before Aaron Cresswell produced a brilliant goal-line clearance to thwart Sako at the other end after Kouyate’s back-pass had sold Adrian short.

Meanwhile, Swansea City fought back with goals from Gylfi Sigurdsson and Alberto Paloschi to escape with a draw from the Britannia Stadium after the home side led 2-0 through goals by Ibrahim Afellay and Bojan Krkic.

Stoke had five players out with injuries including goalkeeper Jack Butland, but they made light of those absences when Afellay headed them ahead after 13 minutes on his 30th birthday.

Stoke stand-in keeper Jakob Haugaard hardly had a save to make as Stoke took a deserved grip on the game after 53 minutes when Bojan scored with a long-range shot.

But Sigurdsson pulled one back for the visitors from the edge of the box after 68 minutes before Paloschi scored the equaliser with a deflected shot 11 minutes later. Aston Villa’s Scottish defender Alan Hutton (left), vies with Chelsea’s Brazilian striker Kenedy during the English PremierLeague football match between

Aston Villa and Chelsea at Villa Park in Birmingham, central England on April 2. (AFP)