Crystal Palace continue barren run at Selhurst Park with goalless Premier League draw against Newcastle United

Crystal Palace 0-0 Newcastle: Roy Hodgson's side remain goalless at home this season

When you are struggling for goals, the last thing you want to come up against is Rafael Benitez with a limited squad trying to make a point.

That was the struggle that Palace faced all afternoon at Selhurst Park, a grey day filled with rain and that frustrating feeling of banging your head against a wall.

Newcastle barely came to play and created little, their best chance coming when James Tomkins misjudged a ball on the greasy surface and Ayoze Perez found himself one-on-one with Wayne Hennessey after ten minutes. He drilled the ball straight at the Welsh goalkeeper and the visitors barely got another sight of goal.

Palace, for their part, had plenty but simply struggled to break down the massed ranks of Newcastle defenders. Even with Wilfried Zaha not fully fit, the Ivorian still shouldered the creative burden for Crystal Palace but could not help them get their first home win of the season. The Eagles have struggled to score with Christian Benteke in the line-up but they lacked a focal point even more without the big Belgian, as Andre Ayew laboured fruitlessly at the tip of their attack and neat interplay broke down on a skiddy pitch at Selhurst Park.

Max Meyer was given an extended audition for a starting berth when Roy Hodgson turned to him with 30 minutes remaining in need of something different but he was quietly efficient and little more as Palace failed to find the breakthrough for a win that, on the balance of play, they had deserved.

They created the chances to win this game, with James McArthur an inch away from prodding home when Zaha’s ball flashed across goal and, most clearly, when Mamadou Sakho headed wide with the goal gaping after Martin Dubravka had come for a cross and missed it.

Crystal Palace created enough chances to win but couldn't find a way past Newcastle (Getty)

That was one of the few mistakes that Newcastle made at the back all day and without the talent that Benitez spent so much of the summer begging Mike Ashley to buy, the Spaniard instead locked up this game with a deep 4-4-1-1 that suffocated the hosts in attack.

Such was the lack of invention and attacking thrust from Newcastle that they only completed two dribbles all game while their foul numbers ticked into double figures and the time they wasted racked up.

It was not pretty but it was effective from Benitez’s side, though you couldn’t help thinking that they will need more ambition than this if they are to eventually win games and stay in the Premier League. Relegation remains their primary concern, and the ongoing behind-the-scenes issues at the club spilt over into this game too, with Mike Ashley attending his first match since May 2017 and the away support reminding him for most of the afternoon that he was unwelcome.

A bottle thrown from the away end that hit young Palace defender Aaron Wan-Bissaka in the neck was a particularly ugly moment in a game that rarely threatened to be attractive and while Palace continue searching for their first home win of the season, Newcastle continue to look for a whole lot more - stability, a new owner, some harmony amid the disharmony.

This point, earned with a resolute away performance, helps them move off the bottom of the table but in the bigger picture that is just one of a myriad concerns.