CRYSTAL Palace columnist DANIEL GRIGG looks back on Saturday's 3-0 defeat against Nottingham Forest.

IT looked a case of after the Lord Mayor’s show as Crystal Palace’s season ended with an uninspiring 3-0 defeat at home to Nottingham Forest.

Though Palace matched Billy Davies’ team in the early stages, Forest were given quite an easy afternoon once Lewis McGugan had coolly struck home the opening goal and Palace were reduced to 10 men with over two-thirds of the match left to play thanks to a reckless Dean Moxey tackle.

Dougie Freedman gave Pablo Counago a rare chance playing alongside Jermaine Easter, but the red card forced him to switch back to just one upfront.

Though it was Counago making way for Claude Davis, who was playing his last match before leaving Palace, it might just as well have been Easter brought off for all the joy he had afterwards when he was often left far too isolated upfront.

Palace did have some opportunities to put Forest under pressure, but Darren Ambrose’s crossing and use of dead ball opportunities was yet again extremely poor, as has been the case far too often in recent weeks and months.

After all the hard work to keep the club in the Championship for another season, Palace could afford to relax on Saturday a little more than in recent weeks.

Although there was a fairly good attendance and the fans were giving the players good support, the situation was never particularly conducive to them beating a tough Nottingham Forest side who needed at least a point to guarantee a play-off place.

Of all the players whose efforts the fans have appreciated this season, Nathaniel Clyne must surely rate highest.

If Saturday was to have been his last appearance in a Crystal Palace shirt, then the youngster certainly gave a good account of himself, despite the final score.

His defensive assuredness and willingness to get up and down the line to try and create opportunities meant the 20-year-old sometimes looked the only outfield player in Palace’s team capable of matching Forest’s quality.

The temptation sadly will surely be there for Clyne to move this summer to a club who can support him more by surrounding him with greater players who can bring out even more of the youngster’s potential.

If Freedman thought keeping Crystal Palace safe this year had been difficult, it could present an even greater challenge next season.

The young manager will have to show some excellent judgement in the transfer window if he's even to head into next season with a first XI as strong as the one which helped him to keep Palace up this time.

The road to recovery is long, but Norwich City have shown what can be achieved with a talented young manager and a confident team.

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