Ismaila Sarr netted late on to help his side nick a 1-0 victory over Ipswich in an entertaining affair at Selhurst Park.
With Palace fans wondering where the goals would come from without their leading marksman Jean-Phillipe Mateta, when Sarr celebrated his clever dink over Alex Palmer with a trademark corner flag kick, they had their answer.
In a near carbon copy of the reverse fixture at Portman Road, where Ipswich were pegged back by a Mateta goal in the second half, it was a largely back-and-forth afternoon.
There were chances for both sides before the clock had even ticked past five minutes played. Ipswich keeper Alex Palmer was called upon first to keep out Eddie Nketiah when he made himself big to deny the Palace man one-on-one.
Moments later, Dean Henderson decided anything Palmer could do, he could do better when he kept out Jaden Philogene from close range with a firm hand.
Lively evolved into manic, when Jacob Greaves avoided a red card when he pulled down Ismaila Sarr on the edge of his area. While Sarr felt he was denied an opportunity at goal, VAR stuck with on-field referee Simon Hooper’s decision to issue a yellow card for the Ipswich centre-back.
The entertainment continued into the second period with both sides pushing for a breakthrough. Eberechi Eze watched on in anticipation when his effort from distance cannoned off Dara O’Shea to loop over Palmer and knock the post.
Down the other end, Liam Delap’s header from a corner drew out an unconvincing stop from Henderson that allowed Philogene to try and fire home the rebound but Sarr was ready on the line to clear. Within minutes, Sarr had glanced a header of his own wide of the mark from a corner. However, it was a miss he made sure not to repeat when he popped up with the winner.
Ipswich see their survival hopes continue to fade while Palace move above Brentford into 11th place in the Premier League.
More to follow…
