Pulis: Splash out and we’ll climb to safety
ARE you sure you need ‘four or five’ new signings, Tony? Crystal Palace manager Tony Pulis is desperate to bolster his squad ahead of Friday’s transfer deadline — but seven points from 12 suggests his squad may not need that much work.
They secured a valuable win over fellow relegation rivals Hull — their second successive victory in the Barclays Premier League — thanks to Jason Puncheon’s strike. The win puts Palace 14th, five points clear of the drop zone but Pulis is adamant about fresh blood.
‘I’m hoping and praying that the next couple of days see us bring a few in — we need to,’ he said. ‘But you can’t criticise what the players have done. They’ve been absolutely wonderful.
‘We need 17 more points. There are 15 games to go, so more than a point a game. It’s tough.’
Prior to kick-off, as if to rub Pulis’s face in it, Steve Bruce fielded his new £13.5million strikeforce of Shane Long and Nikica Jelavic. The Palace boss had been interested in both forwards but missed out due to the club’s financial restrictions.
Chairman Steve Parish is back in the country following his winter holiday in the Caribbean and Pulis hopes his return will coincide with the arrival of new signings. But his side are doing an excellent job of trying to prove there is already enough talent to see them safe.
But the game ended in controversial scenes as Hull goalkeeper Allan McGregor was shown a straight red card for kicking out at Stuart O’Keefe in added time, leaving Tom Huddlestone to go in goal for the dying moments, given Bruce had already made all three substitutions.
Captain Mile Jedinak was inches from giving the home side a ninth-minute lead, flicking a close-range header from Puncheon’s free-kick narrowly wide.
Five minutes later, Bruce was fuming when debutant Long fell in the box after a clumsy challenge from Danny Gabbidon. Referee Roger East could easily have pointed to the spot and the Hull boss soon saw his side fall behind.
Yannick Bolasie’s marauding run ended with the Palace winger finding Puncheon with a teasing cross. The goalbound header hit team-mate Marouane Chamakh, but Puncheon made no mistake with the rebound, smashing the ball past goalkeeper McGregor. In first-half added time, Palace keeper Julian Speroni tipped Huddlestone’s 30-yard free-kick round a post. In the second half, Long and Jelavic combined for the latter to send a header wide before Jake Livermore powered a drive just over the bar.
Huddlestone, Liam Rosenior and sub George Boyd all went close to equalising before McGregor’s brainstorm.
Bruce felt his side should have had two penalties, adding: ‘The referee has got them wrong. I can’t say too much because I’ve just had to pay a fine of £10,000 six weeks ago. He’s sent the goalkeeper off for kicking a player, but the challenge on him is over the top, on the shin. Big game, big match, big stakes, it’s about time we got the referee up to explain why he didn’t give them.’