Crystal Palace survive on final day drama
Crystal Palace ensured their Championship survival at the expense of opponents Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough yesterday. At the top, Blackpool reached the play-offs. Wycombe Wanderers were relegated from League One after they lost to Leyton Orient, and the final League One automatic place is also up for grabs with five teams in contention.
Palace needed a draw to keep them in the Championship after dropping two points at home to West Bromwich Albion in their penultimate match, while Sheffield Wednesday needed all three points.
Palace had the perfect start in the 24th minute when Alan Lee headed in a Darren Ambrose corner to give them the lead, but this was cancelled out by Leon Clarke’s neat finish from a tight angle two minutes from the interval after he took the ball from Palace full-back Danny Butterfield.
Once again Palace took the lead when Ambrose finished from Sean Scannell’s superb pass. Hopes of survival were becoming a reality for the over 5,000 travelling faithful. However, Darren Pulse ensured a frantic and nail-biting finish when he scored in the 87th minute to revive The Owls survival chances, but ultimately it wasn’t enough and the draw kept Palace up and sent Wednesday down. The Eagles were mid-table before they went into administration in January and the docked ten points meant they were dragged into the relegation fight. Unlike Portsmouth in the Premier League, Palace managed to survive.
Hired as the replacement for Neil Warnock in early March, it is a turnaround for Palace manager Paul Hart after he was given the boot at Portsmouth. "It's been a very emotional day. Great relief on our part but there's sadness on their part because Alan Irvine's [Sheffield Wednesday manager] a friend, I played here as well and I've been relegated. It's not very nice,” Hart said.
Ugly scenes marred the end of the match after home and away supporters clashed on the pitch, with several punches being thrown. Palace defender Clint Hill, who with several other players found himself in the midst of the fracas, said: “A good few landed and I am a big lad and can take them. It is disappointing to end like that – I was not enticing anybody, I just went and celebrated with the fans because that's where I thought the players had gone.
"There were none over there, though, and the stewards dragged me off but once one has a swing at you, everybody gets a bit brave and starts having swings at you. At one point there was maybe seven or eight on me. Somebody said that they saw a 50-year-old woman getting hurt - when they start doing that, there is no need for it. It's wrong."
Wycombe Wanderers suffered relegation from League One after they lost 2-0 to Leyton Orient, with the win all but ensuring Orient’s survival. At the top end of the table, Leeds United suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Charlton. The loss dented their hopes of an automatic promotion, and throws Millwall, Swindon, Charlton and Huddersfield a lifeline for that final automatic spot.
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