2012/13 – Part Eight: From big defeats to a final-day flourish

Over the course of this week, you can follow the account of Club Historian Ian King on cpfc.co.uk, telling the story of a dramatic campaign – with a little help from the stars of When Eagles Dare, now available to watch on Palace TV+.

• Part One: A challenging start
• Part Two: Transfers, fortunes and breakthroughs
• Part Three: Comebacks, changes and derbies
• Part Four: Ian Holloway's arrival
• Part Five: Magical Murray, difficult December
• Part Six: New Year, new arrivals
• Part Seven: Brilliant Bolasie, clinical Phillips

Read Part Eight below...

29th March: Palace 0-4 Birmingham

Things started brightly as Kagisho Dikgacoi drilled wide, but midway through the first-half a deflection off an opponent’s hand allowed Nathan Redmond to break away and give the Blues the lead.

Just 10 minutes later, Damien Delaney diverted Nikola Zigic’s header into the net.

Stephen Dobbie came on after the break and the Eagles had opportunities to reduce the arrears but the killer goal came in the 64th minute when Ravel Morrison drove the ball; Shane Ferguson curled a free kick past Julian Speroni for number four.

Palace pushed for a consolation but Andre Moritz saw his set-piece tipped over the bar by Jack Butland before volleying narrowly wide of the far post. The final whistle meant Ian Holloway had suffered his first home defeat – and Palace their first in 18 matches at Selhurst Park.

Despite the drubbing, the Eagles were still in a good position in the Play-Off places being six points clear of Brighton in seventh.

1st April: Blackpool 1-0 Palace

It was an even contest between the teams for 35 minutes on a divot-ridden surface, but the pendulum seemed to swing Palace’s way when Barry Ferguson was dismissed for a second yellow card, this time for obstruction of Yannick Bolasie as he headed for goal.

Palace began to dominate proceedings in the second-half without finding a breakthrough, as Wilfried Zaha sent in a tame effort and a free-kick by substitute Moritz caused havoc, before Bolasie’s goalbound shot was blocked and Glenn Murray failed to direct a fine cross from Zaha onto the target.

The sucker punch arrived six minutes from time, as Tom Ince cut in from the right and Matt Phillips swept the ball home from 20 yards to spoil Holloway’s return to his former club.

Palace remained in fourth place but the opportunity of gaining automatic promotion was ebbing away.

6th April: Palace 0-0 Barnsley

The winless run stretched to five games following this goalless encounter with relegation-threatened Barnsley.

However, the main talking point came before the kick-off as referee Kevin Stroud ruled that both sets of the Tykes shirts clashed with those of Palace. The Yorkshire club then had to purchase the Eagles’ away yellow shirts – and all this just over an hour before the start. Luckily, the club shop was having a sale.

Joel Ward returned at right-back after a three-month lay-off while Moritz started the game, with the latter forcing the goalkeeper to intervene as a free-kick looked destined for the top corner.

That set the tone for the encounter, with the Eagles desperate to break the deadlock against the battling visitors, and Zaha and Bolasie making in-roads down the flanks. In the second-half Moritz again came close from a free-kick but the Barnsley back-four managed to deal with the crosses that came their way.

Nothing changed in the table as all four clubs in the play-off places drew.

16th April: Ipswich 3-0 Palace

For 30 minutes or so of this midweek clash the Eagles had dominated.

Jonathan Parr had already seen his effort from outside the box deflect off a teammate for a goal-kick and Dikgacoi had fired over, before Parr then suffered an injury that would keep him out for the rest of the season. Then the wheels fell off.

The Tractor Boys netted three goals in just 12 minutes: a mistake as Julian Speroni dallied over a pass back on his chest allowed Nouble to fire into an empty net, then in the five minutes added on Aaron Cresswell unleashed an unstoppable shot and an error by Peter Ramage enabled Nouble to score his second.

Despite making opportunities in the second-half it ended with the Eagles goalless for the fifth game in a row.

Cardiff were promoted but Palace were left looking over their shoulders with Bolton, Leicester and Forest in play-off contention.

20th April: Palace 2-2 Leicester

It was fifth against sixth as the Foxes came to Selhurst Park two points behind the Eagles in an encounter neither side could not afford to lose.

Holloway rang the changes, with Parr and Ramage out through injury while Bolasie and Moritz also dropped out. Danny Gabbidon and Aaron Wilbraham returned along with Dobbie and Dean Moxey.

The breakthrough came midway through the first-half as Gabbidon nodded Dobbie’s free kick into the corner of the net – scoring Palace’s first goal in 482 minutes in the process, and his own personal first league goal in eight years – but the lead lasted only 11 minutes as Andy King equalised.

After the break, Wilbraham saw his header bounce back off the crossbar but Dobbie, who had been at the heart of the Eagles’ most successful moments, scored the second when he bent a shot from the edge of the penalty box past Kasper Schmeichel and into the net.

Again an error occurred when Delaney slipped to allow Chris Wood a free run to drive home past Speroni, and the points were shared.

The point against play-off rivals was useful as Forest failed to take advantage and it was definitely ‘squeaky-bum time’.

27th April: Blackburn 1-1 Palace

Mile Jedinak returned from his suspension and it was a noticeably better performance as the Eagles stuttered in the play-off zone.

Palace scored first as Dobbie netted for a successive game, this time collecting a flick-on from Wilbraham to weave his way past his marker and wrong-foot the goalkeeper with a clever finish; a few minutes later he curled a 30-yard free kick just wide of a post.

Just before the break a punt forward by Rovers saw Jordan Rhodes give chase and chip Speroni for the equaliser.

The second-half proved exasperating as Murray beat the offside trap, turned his marker and saw his shot smack the crossbar before Jedinak hit the woodwork with a header from a corner-kick and a legitimate appeal for a penalty on Murray was turned down.

The Eagles now had to play their game in hand away at struggling Millwall three days later.

Hull and Watford were fighting it out for second place, Palace were in fifth but Bolton and Forest were just a point behind with the final day to come.

30th April: Millwall 0-0 Palace

A point each in this south London derby meant both clubs, for differing reasons, would need victories in their final fixture to ensure their respective aims – a play-off place for Palace, and survival in the Championship for Millwall.

Thus it became a pulsating affair for the tension and commitment rather than the quality on display; Speroni watched an effort over the crossbar while a Zaha shot hit Murray and trickled wide of a post.

The second-half continued in similar vein with Bolasie producing the only noteworthy effort, a howitzer of a shot that the Millwall goalkeeper just managed to tip over the bar.

The Lions had two headed half-chances and towards full-time Delaney sliced wide when well placed following a corner – it rather summed up Palace’s night.

Palace moved onto 69 points, remaining in fifth but still requiring a victory to ensure participation in the play-offs. Bolton Wanderers and Nottingham Forest were their main rivals – it was all to play for heading into the final day.

4th May: Palace 3-2 Peterborough

The largest attendance of the season so far – just over 22,000 – came to see if Palace would remain in the play-offs or the Posh could avoid relegation.

By now, the Eagles knew that their play-off opponents, if they could secure their place, would be Brighton & Hove Albion.

The Eagles had certainly been out of sorts over the last few weeks and it showed as Peterborough took a first-half lead, but right on half-time Gabbidon was fouled in the penalty area and Murray converted the spot-kick for his 30th league goal of the season.

Midway through the second-half Peterborough were ahead again, so Ian Holloway reacted with a double substitution, sending on Jonny Williams and Kevin Phillips.

Despite the nerves, the scores elsewhere were still in Palace’s favour – but this was rendered meaningless with seven minutes left on the clock, as Phillips brought his team level. With the clock ticking down, captain fantastic Jedinak headed home to leave Peterborough’s players and staff holding their heads in their hands.

Leicester City gatecrashed into sixth place with a last-gasp winner at Forest, as Bolton could only draw. Palace had done it – yet there was still plenty of work left to do.

10th May: Palace 0-0 Brighton (play-off semi-final 1st leg)

With so much at stake for two rival factions, this looked likely to have been a game decided by one piece of individual skill or a stroke of luck – but neither occurred.

With Selhurst Park transformed into a cauldron of noise that roared with every contested tackle or headed duel, the visitors gained the early ascendancy; Andrea Orlandi nodded wide from six yards and Speroni brilliantly parried Dean Hammond’s header. The Eagles were glad to get to the break on level terms.

Holloway responded by switching Zaha from the right to the left-hand side and the chances soon came, the best a Gabbidon header cleared off the line. Disaster struck as Murray turned in the penalty area only to crumple to the ground in agony, his season surely over.

Wilbraham replaced him but the injury to the former Brighton striker seemed to affect the players and it would be all to play for at the Amex three days later.

After Murray’s injury, many felt that it was now advantage Brighton, who had completed the season as the more in-form team.

They were to be proven wrong...

Relive the full story of Palace's incredible 12/13 season through When Eagles Dare, now available to watch on Palace TV+.

The series was made in-house by Palace TV and first shown on Amazon Prime Video. You’ll hear the inside story of how Steve Parish and the 2010 consortium won tense negotiations with the fans’ support, how Dougie Freedman set the team up for success and the way Ian Holloway guided them forward.

There are exclusive interviews with all the key figures – including Parish, Freedman, Holloway, Wilfried Zaha, Damien Delaney, Yannick Bolasie, Jonny Williams, Mile Jedinak and many others – and previously unseen footage from behind the scenes.

Palace fanzine Five Year Plan wrote of the series: "This documentary is a love letter. Not just to the Palace team of 2012/2013, but to the people and the moments that make these stories so compelling. To the fans, the players and the club that sits at the heart of a South London community. Our community. Our Palace."