Crystal Palace had to wait a long time to do the competition to do the competition about Brighton.
Since 1932, to be precise, when they were in the third division South. Even Roy Hodgson was not born in Croydon for 14 years, as if they wanted to underline the age.
They could never have thought that the 93-year-old was waiting in a way is as glorious ridiculous as this one.
Daniel Munoz was given the goal that won it in the 55th minute, but this 'A23 derby' will be better remembered because he is a second yellow confrontation in Selhurst Park.
Palace completed it with nine players when Eddie Nketiah and Marc Guehi received their second warnings in the 78th and 90th minutes. Brighton was then rejected Jan Paul van Hecke in the sixth minute of the stopping time to end with 10 men themselves.
It was a total massacre and, in reality, wasted as a non-television. Consider this as a meaningless rivalry as you should, given the 50-mile gap between these clubs, but try to tell the Selhurst Roar on full-time, or to Dean Henderson while he let go, or to Jean-Philippe Mateta while sprinting from the replacements and on the field to celebrate.
Mateta had scored the opener for Palace before Danny Welbeck was right. The Munoz strike was a nice when Ebereechi Eze assured his second aid, but my word, what a finish we saw.
It also started so serene.
'Welcome to the home base of the FA Cup Semi-Finalists', the guy about the Tannoy announced when the teams came out of the tunnel.
It was a brutal memory that Palace won their quarterfinals last Saturday, while Brighton lost to Miss on a trip to Wembley.
Instead, the side of Fabian Hurzeler realized and went in eighth place in the Premier League, and yet it cost them a few moments to pop up in this A23 derby. By the time the visitors realized that they could also compete, they were already 1-0 behind.
Mateta had already fooled Selhurst to think he had scored when he knocked the side on the bend after a smart run. It doesn't matter, while Palace's striker really made the opener after 139 seconds when he was moving again.
It started with Guehi who arrived from his own half with the ball while he then put it on Eze. He played in Mateta and this time with his left foot he went sweet further than Brighton -goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen to secure an early lead. Mateta, with his shirt hidden and sporty that protective headgear, celebrated with its characteristic kicks of the corner flag.
Only the fingertips of Verbruggen prevented Palace to score someone else when his keeper opposite Henderson launched a long ball in the last third part for Eze to chase. He checked it, used snake hips to turn inside, and therefore almost found the far corner.
It was then that Brighton arrived with the 25-year strike of Carlos Baleba, which was pushed away by Henderson in the 13th minute. Danny Welbeck ran on the rebound, but the goalkeeper of Palace also stopped him, with England manager Thomas Tuchel also spent his Saturday in Selhurst.
After 27 minutes, the teammates of Brighton Jack Hinshelwood and Yankuba Minth performed an argument after a breakdown breakdown on the right. But in the 31st they were friends again, because both were involved 1-1.
The ball found its way from Hinshelwood to Matt O'Riley to Minth, who crossed when Welbeck came for Munoz to do it. Brighton had signed their last five trips to Palace in the Premier League, so perhaps there was an inevitability that they would come back at some point.
But in the 55th minute the confirmation came that this luminaire would not finally finish one goal each. Eze drove to Brighton's defense before raising Munoz, whose shot waved enough with the help of a deflection of pervis Estupinan to squeeze 2-1 past Verbruggen.
Nketiah was introduced for Mateta in the 68th minute. In the 69th he was booked to dive while trying to win a penalty from Estupinan.
His second yellow arrived in the 78th minute, when Nketiah saved a high boot in an attempt to control the ball. He caught Van Hecke's head.
Referee Anthony Taylor only had to listen to the audible panting of even the home fans to know that it was worth caution, while Nketiah apologized for the supporters for his 10 minutes of madness while he went to the tunnel.
It got worse for Palace when, when 12 minutes of the stopping time was announced, Guehi was shown his own second yellow for planting his studs in the thigh of Brighton replacement Brajan Gruda. He had received his first caution for the awkward heels of Van Hecke.
It was then in the sixth minute of the stopping time that Van Hecke Daichi stumbled Kamada while he broke back. He too was already yellow and started walking to the tunnel. He knew his day was ready before Taylor even reached the red from his pocket.
And so the nine players from Palace held to beat the 10 men of Brighton. Do you have all your breath back? Good.
Comments