James Varcoe
02-02-2000, 09:34 PM
Plouging through my system I found this report from 1989. When the team of the nineties was born. read it and weep. Who cars if The Times didn't think we were pretty. We were good.
Crystal Palace 3 Blackburn Rovers 0
(aet; score after 90 min 2-0; Palace win 4-3 on aggregate)
So much for the team of the Eighties. Whither the team of the Nineties? Crystal Palace might look a lot less pretty than their forebears who were supposed to take the first division by storm a decade ago, but who is to say now that the South London club has reached the promised land again, that it has not got what it takes to stay up?
Watford, Sheffield Wednesday, Wimbledon and Millwall have ushered in the era of the big boot with increasing dividends and Palace have compromised some of the puristic principles of their manager, Steve Coppell, to join them. By going up at the expense of Blackburn Rovers, technically a superior football team, Palace merely confirmed the need for such expedience amid the euphoria of Selhurst Park on Saturday.
With forwards of the calibre of Wright and Bright, who have the pace and alacrity to make such tactics prosper, Coppell must feel the end product has been justified by the means, however prosaic.
Wright's two goals took his total for the season to 33 and left him in such an ecstatic state that it seemed cruel to inquire whether he will reach the same number of years with as much zest and energy if he and indeed Bright are left to chase so many long balls and lost causes. ``I came into the game late and I've been in a hurry ever since,'' Wright said, kidding no one.
Palace's glee was Blackburn's despair. For a team all too familiar with failure in the play-offs, they were gracious losers, especially Don Mackay, even if the manager's wrist-watch must have been horribly awry if he seriously thought that five minutes should have been added on for the pitch invasion that heralded Wright's clinching goal, from McGoldrick's cross, in the 117th minute.
Wright's opening goal 100 minutes earlier from Pardew's exquisite cross brought Palace the early encouragement they so urgently desired. But with Blackburn's midfield overrun until Curry's entry, Palace may well have rued their failure to exploit the confusion of Mail, and disorder in the Blackburn defence. The trip by Atkins on McGoldrick after the ball had gone illustrated Blackburn's unease. Gennoe, a central figure in the disarray, also failed to dive the right way for Madden's penalty.
Suckling's two outstanding saves from Garner at the other end were examples of truer goalkeeping virtues. They took the game into extra time and Palace subsequently into the first division even if Coppell does have trouble keeping them there.
CRYSTAL PALACE: P Suckling; J Pemberton, D Burke, D Madden, J Hopkins, G O'Reilly, E McGoldrick, A Pardew, M Bright, I Wright, P Barber.
BLACKBURN ROVERS: T Gennoe; M Atkins, C Sulley, N Reid, C Hendry, D Mail, H Gayle (sub: A Ainscow), J Millar, I Miller (sub: S Curry), S Garner, S Sellars.
Referee: G Courtney.
------------------
This no smoking thing is killing me
[This message has been edited by James Varcoe (edited 02 February 2000).]
Crystal Palace 3 Blackburn Rovers 0
(aet; score after 90 min 2-0; Palace win 4-3 on aggregate)
So much for the team of the Eighties. Whither the team of the Nineties? Crystal Palace might look a lot less pretty than their forebears who were supposed to take the first division by storm a decade ago, but who is to say now that the South London club has reached the promised land again, that it has not got what it takes to stay up?
Watford, Sheffield Wednesday, Wimbledon and Millwall have ushered in the era of the big boot with increasing dividends and Palace have compromised some of the puristic principles of their manager, Steve Coppell, to join them. By going up at the expense of Blackburn Rovers, technically a superior football team, Palace merely confirmed the need for such expedience amid the euphoria of Selhurst Park on Saturday.
With forwards of the calibre of Wright and Bright, who have the pace and alacrity to make such tactics prosper, Coppell must feel the end product has been justified by the means, however prosaic.
Wright's two goals took his total for the season to 33 and left him in such an ecstatic state that it seemed cruel to inquire whether he will reach the same number of years with as much zest and energy if he and indeed Bright are left to chase so many long balls and lost causes. ``I came into the game late and I've been in a hurry ever since,'' Wright said, kidding no one.
Palace's glee was Blackburn's despair. For a team all too familiar with failure in the play-offs, they were gracious losers, especially Don Mackay, even if the manager's wrist-watch must have been horribly awry if he seriously thought that five minutes should have been added on for the pitch invasion that heralded Wright's clinching goal, from McGoldrick's cross, in the 117th minute.
Wright's opening goal 100 minutes earlier from Pardew's exquisite cross brought Palace the early encouragement they so urgently desired. But with Blackburn's midfield overrun until Curry's entry, Palace may well have rued their failure to exploit the confusion of Mail, and disorder in the Blackburn defence. The trip by Atkins on McGoldrick after the ball had gone illustrated Blackburn's unease. Gennoe, a central figure in the disarray, also failed to dive the right way for Madden's penalty.
Suckling's two outstanding saves from Garner at the other end were examples of truer goalkeeping virtues. They took the game into extra time and Palace subsequently into the first division even if Coppell does have trouble keeping them there.
CRYSTAL PALACE: P Suckling; J Pemberton, D Burke, D Madden, J Hopkins, G O'Reilly, E McGoldrick, A Pardew, M Bright, I Wright, P Barber.
BLACKBURN ROVERS: T Gennoe; M Atkins, C Sulley, N Reid, C Hendry, D Mail, H Gayle (sub: A Ainscow), J Millar, I Miller (sub: S Curry), S Garner, S Sellars.
Referee: G Courtney.
------------------
This no smoking thing is killing me
[This message has been edited by James Varcoe (edited 02 February 2000).]