BFC | Barnsley Football Club | Crystal Palace v Barnsley

MATCH REVIEW:

Following this dire showing at Selhurst Park, things do look decidedly grimmer for Barnsley Football Club and perphaps Simon Davey if we fail to get anything from the big game on Tuesday against Sheffield Wednesday then I think the demand for him to go will be very strong, and arguably not without some good reason.

The team lacked any cohesion anywhere on the pitch. A lack lustre strike force failed to get anything from the chances that were created by the reds. The midfield mis-fired, even the brazilian failed to pull any strings.

We were very fortunate to not be a man down as well as a goal down, as Muller brought a player down as he charged clear on goal, but was only yellow carded, but following the rules, if he was deemed to have fouled as the last man, then he should have been off the pitch, but the former reliable stopper seems to be having a bad patch himself. Prompting calls for Luke Steele to be reinstated.

Two goals from Ben Watson and substitute Shefki Kuqi were enough to give palace a comfortable win. Watson was on hand to slot home a first-half penalty after Heinz Muller clattered Victor Moses, getting the other after a late surge into the box to fire home Nick Carle's cross after the break. Kuqi came on and added a third goal late on.

It was little more than the home side deserved against a Barnsley that rarely looked like arresting Palace's unbeaten run, which now stands at four games. Simon Davey's men remain in the relegation zone, two points away from safety. And now on the same points as Doncaster who got a point from a goalless draw with Blackpool at home.

17-year-old full-back Nathaniel Clyne made his senior debut for Palace, Palace and they dominated the bulk of the possession and created the first chance of the game, which saw Nick Carle miscue his effort well wide after the ball fell nice for him in the area.

Striker Craig Beattie also did his best to keep the Barnsley defenders alert, his snap-shot flying just wide and forcing Bobby Hassell to make a fine last-ditch block on another attempt.

With the possession so heavily weighted in their favour, it was no surprise when they broke the deadlock with 25 minutes gone, although they could quite easily have fallen behind only seconds earlier.

Maceo Rigters managed to find some room from a corner and was able to direct a header at goal, forcing Julian Speroni to adjust and make a decent save.

Then the Palace counter sent Moses racing clear from a huge clearing kick that split Rob Kozluk and Jamal Campbell-Ryce, allowing the striker to race through on goal, where he was brought down by Muller. T here was little doubt referee Tony Bates would award the spot-kick, although there was some surprise when he spared the German a straight red card, opting to caution him instead.

Watson duly dispatched the penalty for his second goal of the campaign and his side could have held a greater advantage by the interval too.

First, Muller had to react quickly to prevent Anderson De Silva's attempted clearance from looping over him, while Beattie offered a further reminder of his menace when he flashed a free header over the bar.

The visitors were clearly galvanised during the interval and started the second period in a more positive manner, with Campbell-Ryce, Rigters and Anderson all firing in early efforts at goal.

However, once again our failure to make our pressure count told a familiar story as Watson showed how it is done as he fired home his second goal on 60 mins.

Carle did well to get in round the back of the visiting defence and his cut-back was perfect for Watson, who did not have to break his stride before leaving Muller with no chance.

The keeper was then called upon to produce a stunning point-blank save from Clint Hill as Barnsley laboured to make inroads on the deficit.

Any hopes Barnsley fc had of a comeback were soon destroyed when Kuqi shrugged off Stephen Foster to get on the end of another booming kick from Speroni before lobbing the advancing Muller on 82 mins. I hope that Sheffield Wednesday feel the back lash (if any!) of this poor performance on Tuesday night.

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