Crystal Palace 2 Cardiff City 0 match report: Marouane Chamakh seals win for resurgent Eagles
Palace record second win in as many games while the former Arsenal striker scores in consecutive matches
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Your support makes all the difference.Much more of this and it will be worth the Dave Clark Five, original performers of “Glad All Over”, claiming royalties from Crystal Palace. For the second time in a week Selhurst Park resounded to the club’s anthem, while of Welsh hymns and arias there were none.
Cardiff City, promoted as champions last season with Palace, were far inferior to them and must be growing equally concerned about dropping straight back down. They have one win from nine games and are a single point ahead of the London side.
Having taken advantage of one limp performance, from West Ham, who were beaten here 1-0 last Tuesday, Palace were the beneficiaries of another, but once again they deserved their success by virtue of the sort of determination and hard work prized by their new manager, Tony Pulis.
Cameron Jerome, scorer of the first goal against his former club, typified those qualities, as did the captain, Mile Jedinak, in midfield, and there were touches of class from Barry Bannan wide on the left, who departed with head held high seven minutes from the end. Just as on Tuesday, Bannan set up a goal for the improving Marouane Chamakh, who has also bought into the Pulis work ethic.
“It’s been a smashing week, but we’re not going to get carried away,” said Pulis, who had kept the same team for the third game running. “We’ve got some very tough away games coming up.”
Cardiff’s Malky Mackay, who must be increasingly concerned about his employment prospects with a maverick club owner, admitted: “We’ve got to be better overall.” They certainly have.
After a fine header by Fraizer Campbell from Tom Cowie’s cross in the first minute – Julian Speroni diverting it for a corner – little was heard from either Cardiff or their fans. Both visiting players were later substituted, Cowie lasting only until half-time. Their team could easily have been further in arrears by then than the goal that Jerome headed in after clever work on the byline by Jason Puncheon.
On the hour Bannan’s cross was headed out by Ben Turner straight to Chamakh, who scored his second goal of the week. Jerome could have had another, nudging on Puncheon’s shot, but David Marshall clawed it back, the referee receiving a signal that the whole ball had not crossed the line.
Jordon Mutch had a late effort for Cardiff pushed away but Palace were comfortable in completing their first back-to-back wins at this level since 2004. Now the task is to make club history by staying in this League for two seasons in a row.
Line-ups:
Crystal Palace (4-4-1-1): Speroni; Ward, Gabbidon, Delaney, Moxey (Mariappa, 25); Puncheon, Dikgacoi, Jedinak, Bannan (O’Keefe, 84); Chamakh; Jerome.
Cardiff (4-2-3-1): Marshall; Théophile-Catherine, Caulker, Turner, John; Medel, Whittingham; Cowie (Noone, 45), Mutch, Kim (Odemwingie, 60); Campbell (Cornelius, 68).
Referee: Michael Jones.
Man of the match: Jerome (Crystal Palace)
Match rating: 6/10
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