Report & Highlights: Classy Crystal Palace comfortably see off Shelbourne

Summary:

• Four changes for injury-hit Palace, as Benítez, Sosa, Devenny and Uche all start.
• 3: Guéhi miscues in front of goal after Pino flicks on a long throw.
• 11 – GOAL: Uche finishes off a fine team move involving Guéhi, Kamada & Nketiah.
• 21: Nketiah has a big call for a penalty turned down after Mbeng slides into him.
• 25 – GOAL: Nketiah taps home in front of goal after Uche hits the post.
• 35: Richards heads against the bar, and Nketiah nods wide the rebound.
• 37 – GOAL: Pino ghosts between four red shirts and arrows home a low finish.
• 41: Devenny heads over from Kamada’s cross at the end of a rapid counter.
• HT: Shelbourne 0-3 Palace
• Palace make a triple change at half-time, with Hughes, Lerma and Esse introduced.
• 46: Uche charges down ‘keeper’s clearance but he recovers to deny Nketiah.
• 57: Richards is close to adding to the scoreline from a corner.
• 71: Esse incredibly hits both posts with a placed finish from Uche’s lay-off.
• 72: Uche turns his marker but blazes over from close range.
• 82: 17-year-old forward Ben Casey makes his senior Palace debut off the bench.
• 90+2: Benítez makes brilliant late save to deny Shelbourne’s Kelly.
• FT: Shelbourne 0-3 Palace

Four days after securing a dramatic late win over Fulham at Craven Cottage, there was a much-changed look about the Crystal Palace side in Dublin for our first-ever competitive fixture in Ireland – Jaydee Canvot, Daniel Muñoz, Ismaïla Sarr and Jean-Philippe Mateta all ruled out of the contest.

That provided opportunities for Walter Benítez, Justin Devenny and Christantus Uche to make their first starts of our European campaign proper, along with Borna Sosa returning to the side.

Where the Eagles left off in West London, they immediately picked up south of Dublin, as they threatened from the off amidst a torrid downpour at Tallaght Stadium.

It was our late goalscorer on Sunday, captain Marc Guéhi, who had the first opportunity against our Shelbourne, fellow debutants in a UEFA league phase, inside three minutes.

Chris Richards long throw was flicked on in the centre of the box by Yéremy Pino but Guéhi, perhaps unsighted, was unable to make a clean connection with the ball with the goal at his mercy.

No matter. Eight minutes later, a touch of Premier League class from Palace arrived as Guéhi kickstarted a fine move, played forwards first-time by Daichi Kamada to set Eddie Nketiah in behind.

The No. 9, spotting Uche in support, played a fine pass himself into the Nigerian’s path – and he duly crashed home a clinical finish to make his first start for Palace in style.

The early goal gave Palace the cushion they craved, and the next phase of the game saw them largely control proceedings – Adam Wharton twice threatening with shots from the edge of the box – with only the occasional direct threat from our Irish hosts.

Indeed, it was another incisive quick pass which appeared to have set Nketiah clean through after 21 minutes. Racing into the box, the forward was taken down on the slide by Milan Mbeng for what appeared to be a clear penalty shout – turned down, however, upon VAR review.

Four minutes later, Nketiah did have his goal. Pino turned in deep and slipped it through for Uche, who slid onto it and prodded past goalkeeper Wessel Speel – hitting the post. Nketiah, gleefully, tapped home in front of the gaping net.

The clear chances kept on coming as the half wore on. Next was from a set-piece: Wharton’s deep, hanging corner was nodded back across goal by Chris Richards and against the bar. Nketiah, under pressure and from a tight angle, headed the rebound into the side-netting.

Two minutes later, however, it was three, as Pino got his first European goal for Palace. It was terrific individual effort, weaving between four Shelbourne shirts before arrowing home an emphatic finish into the bottom-left corner of the net.

Devenny, deployed as a right-wing back, was next to go close, making his way inside from a rapid counter-attack after Shelbourne’s only corner-kick of the half. He raced onto Kamada’s standing cross – but headed just beyond the far top corner.

It was, to surmise, a comfortable half-time lead for Palace, despite the best efforts of a spirited Shelbourne side – and that allowed Oliver Glasner to make three half-time substitutions as he managed the minutes of his squad, with Jefferson Lerma, Will Hughes and Romain Esse all introduced.

Within a minute of the restart, it could have been four, as the ever-energtic Uche charged down a clearance by Speel. The ball ricocheted to Nketiah’s left foot and, after a moment’s hesitation, the strike came in – but the Shelbourne ‘keeper, to his credit, was quick to recover to block the effort.

Richards was next to come close just before the hour mark, after meeting the flight of Hughes’ in-swinging corner, but he nodded wide – and then Esse miscued from Nketiah’s pull-back.

With the sting of the contest well and truly drawn, a raft of further substitutions from both sides saw the pace slow down, with Palace’s three points all but secured.

There were further chances with 20 minutes remaining: Esse’s first-time finish from Uche’s lay-off somehow hit the inside of not one, but both, of Shelbourne’s posts, before spinning towards Speel. Moments later, Uche did wonderfully to turn his marker inside the box but – with just the ‘keeper to beat – lifted his finish over the bar.

The scoring might have been done at that stage – although Shelbourne did liven up as an attacking force later on, only to be smartly shut down by the Eagles’ backline.

But there was still a moment of real pride with eight minutes remaining, as 17-year-old striker Ben Casey, who had 15 goals in 20 games to his name at Academy level for Palace this season, came off the bench to make his senior debut, and on the European stage no less.

Make no mistake, this was an impressive Palace display to a man – perhaps best summed up in the 91st minute when Benítez, who had barely seen the ball throughout the game, made a fantastic stop to deny Daniel Kelly, who’d sprinted clean through.

Shelbourne: Speel (GK), Mbeng (Temple, 81), Coyle (Gannon, 75), Barrett, Ledwidge (Wilson, 59), Henry Francis, McInroy, Caffrey, Wood (Chapman, 81), Boyd, Martin (Kelly, 59).

Subs: Healy (GK), Topcu (GK), Lunney, Ring, Moloney.

Palace: Benítez (GK), Richards, Lacroix, Guéhi, Devenny (Casey, 82), Wharton (Lerma, HT), Kamada (Hughes, HT), Sosa, Pino (Esse, HT), Nketiah (Clyne, 67), Uche.

Subs: Henderson (GK), Matthews (GK), Mitchell, Rodney, Drakes-Thomas.

As It Happened