Luka Milivojevic and Andros Townsend score as Crystal Palace beat Norwich

It was not pretty, but Roy Hodgson certainly could not have cared less. Luka Milivojevic’s first-half penalty – the 20th of his Crystal Palace career – and a late strike from substitute Andros Townsend inflicted another away defeat on Norwich as the hosts equalled their best unbeaten sequence at home in the Premier League.

After the euphoria of the victory over Manchester City a fortnight ago, the cold reality of life in the top flight is now beginning to bite. A fifth defeat in their past six matches in all competitions and a growing injury list means last season’s Championship winners are facing a long season of struggle, although the Norwich manager comforted himself with the knowledge that it easily could have been different had they taken their chances in the first half.

“We know we are in a difficult situation with the injuries but we don’t complain,” said Daniel Farke, who revealed that defender Jamal Lewis was sent for a scan on a suspected broken elbow despite having played for most of the second half. “Sometimes you think it can’t get any worse but it has. We are disappointed but small details cost us today.”

Palace’s unbeaten run here – a run that now encompasses six matches including last season – had been aided by the dismissal of an opposition player in their previous three fixtures, although the late equaliser from Wolves last week meant they began this game two points above their opponents. An injury to Mamadou Sakho saw Martin Kelly return to the side, while Norwich made three changes from the team that were beaten at Burnley including a debut for goalkeeper Ralf Fährmann in place of the injured Tim Krul.

The Schalke loanee looked ready for a long afternoon when Wilfried Zaha shot wide after Todd Cantwell gifted away possession inside the opening 70 seconds. Another lapse of concentration from the England Under-21 midfielder allowed Jordan Ayew to try his luck from distance but Fährmann did well to parry his powerful effort away.

Norwich’s naivety at the back was then laid bare in the lead-up to the opening goal. Cantwell was too slow to react as the ball found its way out to Zaha on the right of the penalty area and his mistake was compounded when Ibrahim Amadou’s lunge brought down James McArthur.

Fährmann departed with a groin injury immediately after the penalty was clinically dispatched by Milivojevic, with Michael McGovern brought on to replace him.

Norwich’s Todd Cantwell is closed down.



Norwich’s Todd Cantwell is closed down. Photograph: Bryn Lennon/Getty Images

Despite their deficiencies in defence, Norwich’s attacking approach will always offer a threat and they could easily have gone in level at half-time. Vicente Guaita was called upon twice to deny Teemu Pukki and then Emiliano Buendía but the visitors’ best chance saw Kelly come to Palace’s rescue as he blocked Cantwell’s shot on the line.

Palace began the second half with more intent and almost doubled their lead when McArthur shot just over. Norwich continued to look a threat in possession, although they failed to create any chances of substance against a home defence marshalled by the outstanding Gary Cahill.

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The introduction of Townsend for Cheikhou Kouyaté was an unusually adventurous substitution from Hodgson but was an indication of his eagerness to avoid a repeat of the previous week. Their search for a second goal finally came to fruition when a brilliant solo dribble from Zaha set up Townsend inside the penalty area as the game ticked into injury time and ensured, much to Hodgson’s delight, they did not throw it away this time.

“You want to win your home games if you can,” he said. “It took a long while to get the second goal but that gave us the relief that it wasn’t going to happen again.”

source: theguardian.com