PALACE ADORE EDDY ALREADY
Ex-Celtic star enjoys dream debut with two goals
CRYSTAL PALACE boss Patrick Vieira hailed a dream debut for Odsonne Edouard after the former Celtic man scored twice to help down Spurs.
French striker Edouard, who made a £15million deadline-day switch from Parkhead, scored with his first touch for his new club after coming on as an 84th-minute substitute. His second goal followed in stoppage-time.
‘I’m really pleased,’ said Vieira. ‘It was a dream start for him (Edouard). For him to come on and score those two goals is really good for him because it will give him the belief and confidence to do well for the team. I’m really happy for him and for the team.’
Palace shed the weight of not winning any of Vieira’s first three games in charge. That they did so in this manner was quite something.
Of course, a red card for Spurs defender Japhet Tanganga shortly before the hour helped them turn possession into points.
For that, Nuno Espirito Santo will likely have a chat of some intensity with Tanganga, whose foggy wisdom led him to sandwich a scuffle with Wilfried Zaha with two stupid challenges in the space of three minutes.
His dismissal left Spurs in a hole for more than half an hour and Zaha capitalised with a penalty before Edouard made his dramatic entrance.
Nuno was hardly in the mood for talking, saying he didn’t see the sending-off, but he saw enough of his team’s wider performance to be worried. Across the game, Spurs had 38-per-cent possession and two shots, neither of which were memorable. Within that mess, Harry Kane didn’t get close to a chance and Tottenham didn’t get close to a fourth win in four.
Nuno said: ‘It is a big concern. We had enough quality and talent to play better. We didn’t do it. Credit to Palace they were aggressive and they didn’t allow too much time on the ball. We lost duels and many, many situations that I think we should do much better. Much improvement is required.’
He didn’t have a huge amount more to say on the back of a difficult week that left him without a number of players for this game. Namely he was missing his three red-list
wanderers — Cristian Romero, Davinson Sanchez and Giovani Lo Celso — and there were also fitness issues around Son Heung-min and Steven Bergwijn.
Of all that, the absence of Sanchez from the unit that kept three clean sheets in the previous three games was the biggest worry, and as it happened, his central partner, Eric Dier, was struck down 12 minutes into this one. He suffered a knock in a challenge with Jordan Ayew.
After a dull first half, the game ignited 10 minutes into the second when Zaha and Tanganga squared off. It started with Tanganga fouling Zaha and in return Zaha swiped back — both escaped with yellows.
If that was fortunate, then it was followed by an act of pure idiocy, as Tanganga lunged off his feet almost immediately into a challenge with Ayew. A second yellow was shown and he was done. Soon Spurs were, too.
A Ben Davies handball was rightly penalised, allowing Zaha to convert from the spot for 1-0. A raucous home crowd at Selhurst Park roared their approval. They sensed blood.
Victory was duly secured after a pair of fine left-foot finishes from Edouard. It proved to be an exceptional debut from the French striker.
CRYSTAL PALACE (4-3-3): Guaita; Ward, Andersen, Guehi, Mitchell; Gallagher, Kouyate (Milivojevic 67), McArthur; Zaha, Benteke (Edouard 82), Ayew (Olise 87). Subs (not used): Butland, Tomkins, Olise, Hughes, Clyne, Kelly, Riedewald. Booked: Zaha, Gallagher.
TOTTENHAM (4-3-3): Lloris; Royal, Tanganga, Dier (Rodon 12), Reguilon; Hojbjerg, Skipp, Winks (Davies 60); Moura, Kane, Alli. Subs (not used): Gollini, Doherty, Gil, Ndombele, Scarlett, Omole, Markanday. Booked: Tanganga, Moura. Sent off: Tanganga (58).
Referee: J Moss (West Yorkshire).