Forgettable start for Eagles

9:38am Monday 11th August 2008

Comments (0)   Have your say »

Crystal Palace 0-0 Watford

THE start of the new Championship season turned out to be a damp squib after a goalless match at a rainy Selhurst Park.

Neil Warnock gave debuts to Paddy McCarthy, Nick Carle and later substitute Calvin Andrew.

The Eagles and Hornets seem to have a lot in common, as both were knocked out in the play-off semi-finals last season and both teams were light on strikers.

During the summer, Palace saw Clinton Morrison join Coventry, while Watford sold Darius Henderson and loaned out Nathan Ellington to Derby.

The visitors started the better of the two sides and the first shot on goal saw John Eustace firing wide after four minutes.

Watford threatened again as Tamas Priskin had a penalty shout waved away after a challenge by McCarthy, but Julian Speroni punched the resulting corner clear.

Carle tried to get Palace on the attack, bursting in from the right on 13 minutes to set up Tom Soares, but his shot hit James Scowcroft and went behind for a goal kick.

Scowcroft shot over a few minutes later following a knock down from a free-kick.

Palace's best moment came on 20 minutes when Moses kept a Palace clearance in play on the left wing with a delightful flick.

He burst down the pitch, playing a one-two with Sean Scannell and charging into the box, only to fire wide of Mart Poom's left post.

Tommy Smith was covering lots of ground for Watford and it took a block from McCarthy to prevent him from opening the scoring on 23 minutes.

Watford continued to push forward and Priskin wasted a very good chance when he was put through with Lawrence and Speroni to beat.

The Palace defender managed to get a challenge in and Speroni gathered the ball before it went behind for a corner.

The Argentinian keeper was called into action once more a few minutes later, saving a shot from former Palace player Jobi McAnuff.

Palace responded by coming close to breaking the deadlock on 35 minutes.

Following a corner, the ball fell to McCarthy who was denied a debut goal by a goal line clearance.

Two minutes later a Scowcroft knockdown found Moses on the edge of the area, but the teenager was ruled to have handled the ball before shooting.

In a battle which would continue into the second half, Lawrence was booked for a foul on Priskin, who was left with a bloodied mouth after an aerial challenge.

Minutes before half-time, Priskin had a shot tipped wide by Speroni and a Scowcroft overhead kick went over the bar.

Early into the second half the battle between Lawrence and Priskin continued, as both players went down after a foul by the visiting forward.

Neil Warnock was the first manager to make a change, bringing on Paul Ifill for Scannell just before another foul by Priskin on Lawrence.

The game boiled over on the hour as a series of hard challenges turned into a melee after Lee Williamson slid in on Lawrence.

Players from both sides began pushing and shoving, as members of both teams' coaching staff and security guards raced onto the pitch.

Williamson and new Palace skipper Shaun Derry were booked for their part in the fracas.

Just two minutes later, Williamson almost had the last laugh as he lifted a shot from the right of the penalty area over Speroni, only to clip the top of the bar.

Watford began piling on pressure again with Williamson again denied when his shot was blocked by a crowd of defenders.

Jon Harley put the ball in the back of the net a minute later, but his close-range strike was ruled out for offside.

Palace responded when a pass from Carle found Scowcroft in space inside the Watford area.

Scowcroft had a yard of space, but Watford defenders Mat Sadler and Jay DeMerit combined to block.

The ball fell into the path of Danny Butterfield, who tried to shoot from a tight angle but was well wide of the target.

Scowcroft had one more chance of note, getting on the end of a Butterfield cross, but Leigh Bromby put the ball behind for a corner.

The game petered out to a goalless draw, putting more emphasis on the need of both teams to add a striker or two if they want to be in the promotion mix this season.

Crystal Palace: Speroni; Butterfield, Lawrence, McCarthy, Hill; Derry, Soares, Carle; Scannell (Ifill 54), Scowcroft, Moses (Andrew 85). Subs not used: Fonte, Fletcher, Ertl.