Summary:
- Palace unchanged from back-to-back away wins
- Half-chances for both sides in the early stages
- Ayew heads over from Olise free-kick in tight opening
- Olise sees penalty shout denied after 20 minutes
- Johnstone denies Iwobi volley from range
- Palace threaten without finding the final ball
- HT: Palace 0-0 Everton
- Eze sees early second-half effort ruled out for offside
- Calvert-Lewin places wide after turning into box
- Pickford turns late Eze curler round the post
- Holgate dismissed for Everton 10 minutes from time
- Palace pile the pressure on but Toffees hold firm
- FT: Palace 0-0 Everton
Manager Roy Hodgson had warned that Palace could expect a physical encounter against Sean Dyche’s struggling Everton side – and so the case proved in a scrappy first-half at Selhurst Park.
Much like in the opening period at Southampton, however, there was little end product in an end-to-end affair, with the visitors perhaps starting the game brighter – Dwight McNeil and Dominic Calvert-Lewin forcing Sam Johnstone into simple early saves – but the Eagles subsequently growing into the contest.
Indeed, the only clear chance of note in the early stages fell to Jordan Ayew who, in an otherwise excellent first-half and amidst a crowd of runners, was unable to direct Michael Olise’s whipped free-kick beneath the crossbar from 12 yards.
Struggling to create against Everton’s well-organised low block, Palace sought alternative routes to goal, with Joachim Andersen and Marc Guéhi both showcasing their ability on the ball with pinpoint long passes which almost created goalscoring opportunities for Ayew and Ebere Eze in quick succession.
Olise soon after had a penalty shout turned down after appearing to beat Vitalii Mykolenko into the box, while at the other end, Johnstone got down well to beat away Alex Iwobi’s well-struck volley from outside the box.
As was perhaps to be expected against a team in the thick of a fight for survival, Everton’s defensive organisation continued to prove hard to unpick after half-time.
But Palace momentarily did appear to have made the breakthrough shortly after the restart – and once again, it was a long ball forwards from Guéhi which carved out the opportunity, finding Eze on the charge.
The No. 10 was in acres of space and kept his composure to lob Pickford on the bounce – only to find himself denied by the flag and, subsequently, a VAR review.
For all of the Toffees’ troubles this season, they did show moments of quality, and ought to have taken the lead themselves moments later. Calvert-Lewin did all the hard work with an inventive turn between Guéhi and Andersen, but placed his subsequent effort wide.
With both teams in need of the points for different reasons, there remained little between them in an equally combative second-half.
It was going to need a moment of inspiration to make the breakthrough – and few players are capable of providing it like Eze - but on this occasion, his low curling shot from 25 yards, which seemed for all the world like it was about to nestle into the bottom corner, was turned around the post by the sprawling Pickford.
The game did open up 10 minutes from time when Mason Holgate – having already been caught out by Ayew from a long ball forward – repeated his mistake, the No. 9 turning him brilliantly before the defender earned a second yellow card with a mistimed tackled.
But even with 10 men, clear chances proved hard to come by, Palace piling on aerial pressure as Doucouré and Mitchell both fired volleys over the bar, and Eze had a low effort held by Pickford.
A fiercely-fought point maybe, but a point closer to safety for Hodgson and Palace, who continued to stretch the gap between themselves and their opponents on the edge of the drop zone.
Palace: Johnstone (GK), Ward, Andersen, Guéhi, Mitchell, Doucouré (Milivojevic, 78), Schlupp (Hughes, 71), Eze, Ayew, Edouard (Mateta, 71) Olise
Subs: Guaita (GK), Tomkins, Richards, Riedewald, McArthur, Lokonga
Everton: Pickford (GK), Holgate, Keane, Tarkowski, Mykolenko, Iwobi, Garner, Gueye, McNeil, Calvert-Lewin (Maupay, 90), Gray (Godfrey, 82)
Subs: Begovic (GK), Patterson, Mina, Coady, Davies, Lonergan, Simms
