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A classic it was not. But if West Ham narrowly stay up, this goalless draw will be one of the bricks in the wall that kept them up. The Hammers are not yet there, though, with another big game this weekend against Everton. It will be interesting to see if West Ham are still clear of Tottenham come the end of the weekend – Spurs travel to now-relegated Wolves.
Thanks for reading, and for your emails. Until next time! Cheers!
Nuno Espírito Santo, West Ham manager, speaks to Sky Sports.
double quotation markWe performed well. We expect the best but we were compact in a difficult place in Selhurst Park. Our final pass was not quite there, though. Palace are a tough team to play against, with a big threat on the counter attack. We kept the balance and we were solid. Saturday [against Everton at home] we go again. We know we have to do better. It’s very tight.
Dean Henderson, Crystal Palace goalkeeper, speaks to Sky Sports. The reporter remarkably does not ask him about that night out in Florence after the Conference League triumph! Spill the tea, Dean!
double quotation markWe’re disappointed. There are a few tired legs out there. We pushed on late to get a winner but it wasn’t to be. We’ll take the clean sheet and move on. We have some important games coming up.
I think 12 clean sheets is an unbelievable return for a team in our position. We just have to keep that going. We wanted to win today, it feels like a bit of a missed opportunity tonight.
ShareEd Aarons’ match report from Selhurst ParkShare
Mateus Fernandes is given the player of the match award. The West Ham man was very tidy in midfield and I have just noticed that the 21-year-old made his international debut for Portugal earlier this month, coming off the bench to replace Bruno Fernandes in the friendly win over USA.
Jarrod Bowen, West Ham captain, speaks to Sky Sports:
double quotation markProbably feeling both frustrated and happy with a draw. They are a good side, on a high from reaching a European semi-final, but on another day we had some chances that we could have scored. A point is certainly not the worst result. We play for West Ham United and we can’t rely on results elsewhere and fight to stay in the Premier League.
West Ham’s run-in is pretty good. Three of their five remaining matches are at home:
Everton (h)
Brentford (a)
Arsenal (h)
Newcastle (a)
Leeds (h).
Tottenham’s is, for my money, slightly harder:
Wolves (a)
Aston Villa (a)
Leeds (h)
Chelsea (a)
Everton (h)
This is what the result does to the Premier League table. The big news is that Wolves are down and West Ham are (again) two points clear of Tottenham.
It’s interesting that the match felt like something of a dead rubber to Palace, who seem focused on Europe, yet they would have been just two points shy of sixth-placed Chelsea had they won tonight. It matters not, Palace have just a point, and are 13th.
ShareFull-time: Crystal Palace 0-0 West Ham. Wolves are relegated
That point could be crucial in the relegation battle, with West Ham now two points clear of 18th-placed Tottenham. The point also confirms relegation for Wolves, who are mathematically now down.
90+4 min: Kante surges forward on the counter attack and feeds Walker-Peters. His cross is blocked but Kante wins the ball back and a late corner for West Ham! Everybody up? Not quite but here come Disasi and Mavropanos …
90+2 min: A clumsy slip from West Ham’s Diouf looks costly before the Senegalese left-back hurls down his Munoz with a cynical tug. Diouf is booked, as is Munoz for making the ‘booking’ gesture with his hands towards the referee. Silly lad.
90+1 min: A magnificent hoof from Diouf (say that three times fast) as West Ham clear their lines. Palace are pushing for a winner. Sort of.
90 min: Four minutes added on. You can tell your kids/grandkids that you were here.
88 min: Tired passes now. First from Soucek, then Mavropanos. This hasn’t been pretty but now West Ham just need to make sure that they don’t leave empty handed.
86 min: Bowen lofts a lovely little cross to the back post – the sort that Pablo and Castellanos would probably thrive on – but nobody is there to nod home. Wilson tries to retrieve the ball but Palace clear.
84 min: A defensive change for West Ham, who appear to be happy to play for a draw now. Mohamadou Kanté, a 6ft5in midfielder is on for Castellanos. Wilson will play as the sole striker for West Ham, with five in midfield.
ShareGOAL DISALLOWED! Sarr has his goal for Palace ruled out for handball!
82 min: Chaos in the West Ham box as Disasi’s defensive header flies high into the south London sky. Hermansen chooses not to come for a punch and Mateta is first to the ball, nudging it to Sarr, who takes a touch and volleys into the net from close range! Buuuuuuuuuuut, replays show that Mateta clearly used his arm. A clear handball. It remains goalleess.
Ismaila Sarr of Crystal Palace scores a goal which is later ruled out for a handball. Photograph: Julian Finney/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 16.47 EDT
79 min: Wilson looks every one of his 34 years. I’m not convinced that West Ham will be renewing his one-year deal in the summer.
77 min: Lerma bends a rather weak shot wide of the target, but Hermansen gets his calculations all wrong and tips is wide when he needn’t have bothered! Nuno looks less than impressed on the sidelines. Excitement! Palace have a corner!
Palace make another change: Devenny for Johnson (the corner is too deep and easily cleared).
75 min: West Ham do make a change in attack, but Pablo is replaced by Callum Wilson.
73 min: As things stand, remember, Wolves would be relegated. That is the case if West Ham get any sort of result.
71 min: As if to prove my point, Hermansen kicks the ball straight into touch. Eeeeesh. I’d be curious to see Adama Traoré on the right wing for West Ham. He might have more luck against Mitchell. Maybe move Bowen inside?
69 min: This is not a thrilling game of football. But there is still a lot riding on it.
67 min: Munoz’s goatee is really something. So thick. Almost a beard, but not quite.
Updated at 16.31 EDT
65 min: Summerville shows startling balance to evade two Palace tackles on the left wing but Lerma intercepts his attempted through ball to Castellanos. Lerma then slips and Castellanos pounces, only to stumble himself just as he was taking aim! Palace escape, there.
63 min: Bowen has had no change out of Mitchell this evening. The Palace left-back has been excellent. Not sure he will do enough to usurp O’Reilly and Lewis Hall in Tuchel’s plans for this summer, but Mitchell is a very dependable player (that probably won’t win you a World Cup).
Updated at 16.26 EDT
61 min: Nervier times for West Ham, with Palace in the ascendency. Hammers fans, would you take a draw at this point?
Updated at 16.21 EDT
59 min: Palace make a triple change! The home side have been much better this second period and Glasner smells blood. Here come the cavalry: Mateta for Strand Larsen, Sarr for Pino and Kamada for Hughes.
57 min: Another flowing Palace move – their best of the match – starts with Strand Larsen/Hughes/Pino and ends with another telling cross from the right curling towards the back post. Again, West Ham get bodies back and Fernandes is there to clear.
55 min: Wasteful from Johnson again! The former Spurs winger gets to the byline but crosses straight into the arms of Hermansen. I wonder if we might see Sarr replace Johnson soon, with the Welshman also on a booking.
Updated at 16.34 EDT
53 min: Finally, Palace click into gear! Seemingly for the first time, Strand Larsen gets away from Disasi and finds Munoz with a neat pass. It goes down the line to Johnson, who whips a very useful pass across West Ham’s six-yard box. Walker-Peters cleans up at the back post, with Mitchell lurking. Better from the home side.
51 min: More West Ham pressure! Bowen tries his luck from range – blocked by Hughes – before West Ham’s captain hooks a useful cross to Palace’s back post, where Richards clears.
49 min: Bowen, one of just two English players in West Ham’s starting XI tonight, nearly scores direct from a corner! Only the alertness of Canvot at the near post stops the ball from going into the net!
46 min: Almost immediately after kick-off, Disasi’s elbow crashes into the back of Strand Larsen, who folds like a deck chair and lies crumpled on the ground. Ouch.
SharePeeeeeeeep!
We’re off again in south London. No changes from either side.
Half-time reading:
ShareHalf-time: Crystal Palace 0-0 West Ham
Palace (and Spurs) are fortunate that it is still goalless.
45+2 min: “Wolves fans will be picking themselves off the floor after your suggestion Joao Gomes, Hwang Hee-Chan and Angel Gomes are the most likely players to be picked up byvprem clubs. Hwang is useless, 4 goals in 43 Premier League appearances over the last two seasons! Angel Gomes has been a disappointment, gets subbed off before the hour mark when he starts. Not physical enough for the league.”
Have to say I haven’t watched a lot of Wolves recently. Angel Gomes is a fine player – he played for England as recently as November 2024 and in the Champions League for Marseille this season. But he has obviously not made the right impact at Wolves. He dictates play and isn’t very good defensively and that’s not much use when Wolves don’t have much of the ball.