Palace Post Match

[GLC]

http://t.co/M8j7idgm

Goals, thanks to lawlor423 on twitter

[purpleronnie]

A friend of a friend at work stood to collect £14,000 off an accumulator if Palace won today, Leicester v Palace being the last game in the run.

He even thought I wouldn't mind if had City lost, being so close to the season of doom and all that. Wrong!.

Great win.

Did he put a cover bet on?

[Thracian]

A big thankyou to Nigel Pearson not only for three important points but for setting up in such a way as we could score goals and as big a thankyou to the players for producing three Premiership standard goals that will remain in the memory for a long, lon time.

At long last we started with five potential scorers - about as many as we could muster in the circumstances - and about as balanced a team as we could muster in the circumstances.

Even at half-time I thought the game had been worth watching, that we were carrying fewer passengers than usual, that we created a few chances and that people seemed to know what part they were trying to play in the scheme of things.

My only real disappointment at that stage was Beckford. His control was awful, he didn't seem to link with anyone, he missed the target by a long way with a header he should have scored from and completely fluffed another chance supplied by Kasper.

Which all meant Beckford was odds on to score in the end and so he did, to round off an absolutely brilliant move build on one-touch passes that ripped Palace apart. Started by Konchesky, it was left for Wellens to feed the perfect ball for a simple finish by Beckford to conclude a goal of such quality it might have beaten any defence.

Who could imagine that Gallagher - so wayward in the first half - would put glitter in the game with two absolutely belting finishes - the second one inch perfect and a joy to behold. Some might say 3-0 was flattering but we made some chances and took some while Palace made some chances and squandered them. You get and deserve nothing for missing.

There were some big performances too because Palace were no mugs. Konchesky gave as good a 90 minutes as I've seen from a left-back at Leicester for several years. No he didn't win every battle and his strong, skillful, opponent got a couple of dangerous crosses which might well have reaped goals.

But Konchesky never gave the bloke a moment's peace. He showed a sense of urgency in everything he did and if he didn't win all the battles he certainly won the war with his contribution to a couple of our goals.

On the other flank Peltier had less to see for his efforts but, first half in particular, he showed real attitude in getting forward, getting behind Palace and delivering some decent crosses.

The support of those two was vital to our overall performance and, with Dyer and Gallagher providing providing width, threat and passing options, suddenly our central midfielders had a choice of passes and our attacks could be build from different directions, and with a bit of pace, instead of being entirely predictable.

Generally too we had very few passengers or people not playing an effective part. Quite apart from his goals, watching Gallagher sliding in for a couple of tackles close to the left-back position rated collectors items but also reflected Pearson's requirement that everyone contributes when we haven't got the ball.

But what to say about Beckford.

If he hadn't have scored he'd have had a stinker. The headed chance way over, the intercepted chance which he just tapped into the goalkeeper's hands, poor passing, mistunderstandings with his team-mates, much too easily pushed off the ball, it really wasn't good. And yet he did score - and it was an important goal being the first of Pearson's new managerial shift and the one that gave us the lead and th confidence to go on and win the match.

I could also say he worked the chances he missed, that they were the best chances we had, and it is always encouraging to see strikers having chances as well as fact that some of them will be wasted. But it might be a fine line with the bloke, cos he's still not offered much when he's not scoring and if I were his coach I'd have him working for hours to develop an infinitely better first touch. .

A word too for Kasper. The lad didn't have many shots to deal with but he nearly made a goal for Beckford with an inch-perfect cleearance and also made an instinctive save on the line at what might have been a vital time.

St Leger too had his moments, making two vital blocks, the first in conjunction with Mills as City showed themselves willing to put bodies on the line in their successful quest to keep a clean sheet.

Managers say it's all about players and they'd certainly be lost without some of them as Sven found out.

But Pearson played a big part today. He picked the best team, had them play in a positive manner, didn't try to squeeze out the game when we went ahead and gave important match-time to Schlupp and Howard, offering them the added chance to build some sort of partnership.

No it wasn't perfect but it was a match worth watching and the second half was worth remembering for those goals.

Well done one and all. Now let's move on, stay positive and get back-to-back wins.

.

[Guest Col city fan]

Great result, avergae performance, poor opponents.

We could have had quite a few more goals, Kings header in the first half, Beckford had a free header too (i couldn't see but he might have been pushed) and Beckford through on goal in the second half.

There is still a lot of work for Nigel to do, but a great first goal quick one touch passing, and 2 crackers from Gallagher made me happy. The performance was ok, a lot more energy than what I've seen recently but still missing something, we were overrun in midfield a bit and didn't utilise Dyer as much as we should have done. Defensively solid but a great defensive header from King in the first

saved what would have been a Palace tap in.

Too many long balls/long passes and giving the ball away too much.

Beckford I don't think likes the ball pumped up to him, did his best under the high balls, but not his strength, I also

think he will get better the more he plays and develops an understanding with the rest of the team. He tried quite a few quick lay offs that the intended target didn't read. He is clearly got talent and he seemed to put in a lot more effort today, lost the ball a couple of times but made an attempt to win it back. Did well to intercept the ball and carry it in to the

box how he didn't score I have no idea. I'm glad he got a good reception when he was subbed because his faults today were not through effort and attitude.

Pearson has some work to do and my only criticism of him today is why bring on Howard? Surely at that stage of the match comfortably 3-0 up give a player he has never seen before like Danns or Abe a run out either for King or Wellens, maybe change the formation to a 4-3-3 Schlupp,

Gally and Dyer up top with King Wellens and Abe/Danns in the middle. He already knows all he needs to about Howard and we didn't need his impact as the game had already been won.

Edit: It was also good to see we didn't just sit back whne we had the lead, we soaked up the pressure after we scored, great save from Kasper, and then went back on the attack.

Sometimes the long ball is necessary.

Wellens played some gorgeous passes first half and even mills passing is improving.

Beckford cannot play with his back to goal.. His first touch is shocking. However, give him a sniff of goal and he looks to be deadly ( second chance excepted). He took his first chance beautifully.

[Thracian]

A big thankyou to Nigel Pearson not only for three important points but for setting up in such a way as we could score goals and as big a thankyou to the players for producing three Premiership standard goals that will remain in the memory for a long, long time.

At last we started with five potential scorers - about as many as we could muster in the circumstances - and about as balanced a team as we could muster in the circumstances.

Even at half-time I thought the game had been worth watching, that we were carrying fewer passengers than usual, that we created a few chances and that people seemed to know what part they were trying to play in the scheme of things.

My only real disappointment at that stage was Beckford. His control was awful, he didn't seem to link with anyone, he missed the target by a long way with a header he should have scored from and completely fluffed another chance supplied by Kasper.

Which all meant Beckford was odds on to score in the end and so he did, to round off an absolutely brilliant move build on one-touch passes that ripped Palace apart. Started by Konchesky, it was left for Wellens to feed the perfect ball for a simple finish by Beckford to conclude a goal of such quality it might have beaten any defence.

Who could imagine that Gallagher - so wayward in the first half - would put glitter in the game with two absolutely belting finishes - the second one inch perfect and a joy to behold. Some might say 3-0 was flattering but we made some chances and took some of them, while Palace made some chances and squandered them. You get and deserve nothing for missing.

There were some big performances too because Palace were no mugs. Konchesky gave as good a 90 minutes as I've seen from a left-back at Leicester for several years. No he didn't win every battle and his strong, skillful, opponent got a couple of dangerous crosses which might well have reaped goals.

But Konchesky never gave the bloke a moment's peace. He showed a sense of urgency in everything he did and if he didn't win all the battles he certainly won the war with his contribution to a couple of our goals.

On the other flank Peltier had less to see for his efforts but, first half in particular, he showed real attitude in getting forward, getting behind Palace and delivering some decent crosses.

The support of those two was vital to our overall performance and, with Dyer and Gallagher providing providing width, threat and passing options, suddenly our central midfielders had a choice of passes and our attacks could be build from different directions, and with a bit of pace, instead of being entirely predictable.

Generally too we had very few passengers or people not playing an effective part. Quite apart from his goals, watching Gallagher sliding in for a couple of tackles close to the left-back position rated collectors items but also reflected Pearson's requirement that everyone contributes when we haven't got the ball.

But what to say about Beckford.

If he hadn't have scored he'd have had a stinker. The headed chance way over, the intercepted chance which he just tapped into the goalkeeper's hands, poor passing, mistunderstandings with his team-mates, much too easily pushed off the ball, it really wasn't good. And yet he did score - and it was an important goal being the first of Pearson's new managerial shift and the one that gave us the lead and th confidence to go on and win the match.

I could also say he worked the chances he missed, that they were the best chances we had, and it is always encouraging to see strikers having chances as well as fact that some of them will be wasted. But it might be a fine line with the bloke, cos he's still not offered much when he's not scoring and if I were his coach I'd have him working for hours to develop an infinitely better first touch. .

A word too for Kasper. The lad didn't have many shots to deal with but he nearly made a goal for Beckford with an inch-perfect cleearance and also made an instinctive save on the line at what might have been a vital time.

St Leger too had his moments, making two vital blocks, the first in conjunction with Mills as City showed themselves willing to put bodies on the line in their successful quest to keep a clean sheet.

Managers say it's all about players and they'd certainly be lost without some of them as Sven found out.

But Pearson played a big part today. He picked the best team, had them play in a positive manner, didn't try to squeeze out the game when we went ahead and gave important match-time to Schlupp and Howard, offering them the added chance to build some sort of partnership.

No it wasn't perfect but it was a match worth watching and the second half was worth remembering for those goals.

Well done one and all. Now let's move on, stay positive and get back-to-back wins.

.

[Three Legged Fox]

Did he put a cover bet on?

Not sure, i will get a full update in the morn.

[cairnsy]

Which all meant Beckford was odds on to score in the end and so he did, to round off an absolutely brilliant move build on one-touch passes that ripped Palace apart. Started by Konchesky, it was left for King to feed the perfect ball for a simple finish by Beckford to conclude a goal of such quality it might have beaten any defence.

i hate to burst your bubble whilst bumming off kingy, but it was wellens who fed beckford through.

[Captain...]

Sometimes the long ball is necessary.

Wellens played some gorgeous passes first half and even mills passing is improving.

Beckford cannot play with his back to goal.. His first touch is shocking. However, give him a sniff of goal and he looks to be deadly ( second chance excepted). He took his first chance beautifully.

I agree that sometimes we need to play it long and be a bit more direct, but neither of our strikers looked to enjoy the long balls up to them, and we rarely got the right weight on the ball to get Dyer or Gally in behind the full backs.

Mills is probably the biggest culprit for the long pass, he is not the most comfortable on the ball, but the midfield need to realise that and give him simpler options, it is not Mills' job to be creative, saying that he did play a couple of cracking crossfield passes.

[monsieur grande]

Yeah two great goals, I think Young was a bit OTT saying "it's the best goal he's ever seen"

you're so out of touch with the modern game, and im sick of your pessimism , if thats young's opinion then thats young's opinon, u havent seen the goals he has seen. stop drinking out of date speckled hen, and update yourself mate. Its time to move on and sell greame souness soccer on your amiga 500

[Chairman of the Bored]

Spring in my step on way to the ground; smile on face afterwards. It's great to have a Manager back in the hot seat who's on the touchline for 90 minutes, cajoling and encouraging. Looking forward to Pooroldpompey next week now.

Welcome home, Nigel and well done lads.

[Kitchandro]

I agree that sometimes we need to play it long and be a bit more direct, but neither of our strikers looked to enjoy the long balls up to them, and we rarely got the right weight on the ball to get Dyer or Gally in behind the full backs.

Mills is probably the biggest culprit for the long pass, he is not the most comfortable on the ball, but the midfield need to realise that and give him simpler options, it is not Mills' job to be creative, saying that he did play a couple of cracking crossfield passes.

Agree with this.

We played the long ball too often in the first half, it isn't going to work very often because Beckford and Nugent aren't going to win much in the air. We played our best football in between the goals when the game was stretched, we showed that when we want to we can really pass the ball. We need to be positive in possession more often and try and pass through them, not overplay it, but play at a high tempo.

Without trying to give him too much stick, Beckford does make it hard for us to do that with a lack of movement and not being able to hold onto the ball for any amount of time.

[Happy Fox]

I thoroughly enjoyed the game, Beckford getting the first goal did wonders for his confidence, Gally's two goals top class worth salivating over. As NP alluded to we shouldn't get carried away their is still a long way to go, but the signs of improvement in my eyes were evident to see. Great start for NP's second coming, 3 points what more could you want

[Bert]

The first half wasn't great, but the second half was.

Having people to pass out the ball to wide rather than a congested middle made the difference for me, every player had some kind of support from someone somewhere on the pitch which was badly lacking under Sven. We were never over-ran and they didn't get in behind either. we created a lot of chances too.

Plenty of positives to take, but still plenty to improve on!

[SMX11]

The first half wasn't great, but the second half was.

Having people to pass out the ball to wide rather than a congested middle made the difference for me, every player had some kind of support from someone somewhere on the pitch which was badly lacking under Sven. We were never over-ran and they didn't get in behind either. we created a lot of chances too.

Plenty of positives to take, but still plenty to improve on!

Spot on, I am not going to get carried away with the result because I think there are areas that need improving but still very encouraging.

[Dylan]

Fantastic result; just what we needed to start with. Cracking 3 goals- with 2 wonder strikes from Gally!

First 10 minutes; we were fantastic- totally dominant and looked like it would be a total dominant performance. But then we died down for the next 30 mins- which was quite boring tbh, giving a bit more excitement in the last 5 of the first half.

Our first goal was good football- and the 2nd and 3rd were top hits from Gally- hit them perfectly.

Schmeichel was as his usual self today- making a few great saves- especially that point blank header- very reliable so far this season.

Thought Lloyd Dyer was disappointing however. Had a poor understanding of the game today and was always a few seconds slow in reading the game. King looked much sharper and eager- along with Beckford.

Defence was decent- can't really complain with a clean sheet. Not sure if he should bring Bamba straight back in- thoughts?

Overall, great result- I've seen better performances but the result was great, just what we needed... Bring on Pompey!

[TheLabMan]

Where did all the narrow play go, with 18 defensive midfielders, no width, and no really animated swede on the touchline!

Balls to this, I can't have that Pearson bloke on the touchline heading every ball and shouting orders all through the match, plus putting in that Gally geezer!

It's just no fun to see the fans cheering goals and doing the Man City dance on three occasions!!!

Besides having UUUL CITY fans complaining on their forum about what a bad bloke that Nigel is for coming to a smaller club such as LCFC!!! He must be nuts!!

I think if he really wants to do something he should that Fryatt & Waghorn bloke, better than any Nugent, Becford, Howard & Schlupp anyday

SACK HIM TOP Before he gets us relegated!!!

Signed: MM, P.SOOOUSA, SGE and L.HOOOOOOOOOOOOS

[Webbo]

I was glad to see Abe used at RB, all be it only as a sub, I think that might be his natural position.

[foxfanazer]

Apart from 2 incredible once in a season goals and one incredible save it was a typical LCFC performance with a lot of sloppy passing and very little closing early down which put the defence under unnecessary pressure.

Not that i didn't enjoy it but there's a lot of going over the top after one win syndrome.

I'd have to disagree, by no means do I think it was a great performance but I think we bossed the game for most of it. The movement was a lot better and it was really good to see us playing with wingers. Peltier and konchesky making overlapping runs was good to see as well. I'm certainly not getting carried away but it was a big improvement on some of the games I've seen us play this season. Fingers crossed we beat Pompey and go on a bit of a run

Where did all the narrow play go, with 18 defensive midfielders, no width, and no really animated swede on the touchline!

Balls to this, I can't have that Pearson bloke on the touchline heading every ball and shouting orders all through the match, plus putting in that Gally geezer!

It's just no fun to see the fans cheering goals and doing the Man City dance on three occasions!!!

Besides having UUUL CITY fans complaining on their forum about what a bad bloke that Nigel is for coming to a smaller club such as LCFC!!! He must be nuts!!

I think if he really wants to do something he should that Fryatt & Waghorn bloke, better than any Nugent, Becford, Howard & Schlupp anyday

SACK HIM TOP Before he gets us relegated!!!

Signed: MM, P.SOOOUSA, SGE and L.HOOOOOOOOOOOOS

And Ian stringer

[dannythefox]

Just what we needed good solid performance and three good goals although Beckford should of had another. Not sure how freedman could say they were the better team for 60 mins he must of been watching another game. Really please with the result now hopefully get something out the pompy game.

[foxfanazer]

This is a bit off subject but I think I saw 2 of the worst set pieces I've ever seen today. The first was the corner where 1 of the players touched the ball and ran away the somebody had to run from the area to cross it in?! The second was the free kick just before the half time whistle (think it was Gallagher) just dreadful (not moaning btw)

[dannythefox]

This is a bit off subject but I think I saw 2 of the worst set pieces I've ever seen today. The first was the corner where 1 of the players touched the ball and ran away the somebody had to run from the area to cross it in?! The second was the free kick just before the half time whistle (think it was Gallagher) just dreadful (not moaning btw)

Yes that was shit!

[Thracian]

i hate to burst your bubble whilst bumming off kingy, but it was wellens who fed beckford through.

Thanks - your point is appreciated far more than your vulgarity..

[Cpfc10]

Interesting game to be honest. Don't get me wrong you deserved the win but I don't think either side played particularly well. Was one of those games where you did feel whoever scored first was going to win it.

You battered us first 15 minutes but to be honest we've become used to that so I wasn't overly worried. I don't know whether we do it on purpose but we do seem to just let teams batter us at the start. We started to get into it but didn't create a great deal. I was happy to go in at half time 0-0.

Someone on here said we came for the draw but this is how we've set up all season, although today having 3 defensive midfielders was a joke. We can only hit teams on the counter when we have pace in the side which we only had in Zaha. Don't know why Scannell didn't start.

Anyway without going on we desrved what we got and that was nothing. We had two great chances to level it at 1-1 and didn't take them. When playing a team with the quality that you have you get punished if you don't take the chances. I do think the scoreline flattered you a bit and you can't legislate for goals like Gallaghers second but all in all you deserved it without playing brilliantly or us giving you to much of a hard time.

Think Pearson will get you play offs. You have some great players and money to burn and if I were a Leicester fan I wouldn't expect anything less. Just cant see anyone finishing above Southampton or West Spam to be honest. They look a cut above everyone else.

As for us thats 4 games without a goal so something needs to change. If you go on our website it's laughable. People demanding Freedman is sacked etc!!! Tody we looked like what we are........ and thats a mid table side, which was our goal at the start of the season.

Enjoyed the atmosphere today though and look forward to the return game at Selhurst.

[Larry_LCFC]

Incase this hasnt already been posted and you havent seen the goals

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3iv2XXspTo

[gazmanthegun]

Just seen the goal on YouTube. Total missile of a shot, does not dissapoint. Will feature many lcfc dvd's im sure