Palace hold Swansea
SWANSEA: Australia captain Mile Jedinak paid an emotional tribute to Phillip Hughes and then scored the goal that gave Crystal Palace a 1-1 draw at Swansea yesterday.
Palace midfielder Jedinak laid a bat on the field before kick-off at the Liberty Stadium in honour of the 25-year-old Australia cricketer, whose death on Thursday after being hit by a ball while batting earlier in the week has shocked the world of sport.
Jedinak followed his mark of respect to Hughes by delivering a dynamic display capped by the first half equaliser that cancelled out Wilfried Bony’s opener for the hosts.
The point kept Palace away from the relegation zone and built on the momentum from their shock 3-1 win over Liverpool last weekend. Eagles manager Neil Warnock said before
Crystal Palace 1
the game that Garry Monk had taken Swansea to a new level and that compliment seemed justified as Palace were overrun in the opening 20 minutes. Jefferson Montero caused mayhem down Palace’s right flank and Bony twice went close and Gylfi Sigurdsson sent over an angled free-kick before Swansea took a deserved 15th minute lead.
Sigurdsson, so often the provider for Swansea this season, found Bony on the edge of the penalty area and his smart turn and shot gave Julian Speroni no chance in the Palace goal. It was the Ivorian’s 18th Premier League goal of the calendar year - the best in the division. It seemed a matter of time before Swansea would build on their lead, but the game turned in the 25th minute when Jonjo Shelvey got on the wrong side of Marouane Chamakh in a congested penalty area and the Palace forward fell to the floor.
Jedinak stepped up to hammer the resulting penalty past Lukasz Fabianski for his fifth goal in eight games. Suddenly Palace were a different proposition.
Chamakh had a clear opportunity to put Palace ahead when Ashley Williams miscued Martin Kelly’s cross, but Fabianski was off his line smartly to smother the shot. —AFP