Palace secure point in entertaining Newcastle clash

Summary

• Newcastle start brightly but Palace keep them quiet
• Wilfried Zaha lands the first shot on target by striking first time at Nick Pope
• Vicente Guaita stands firm to deny Alexander Isak from yards out
• Jean-Philippe Mateta carves out a chance within the box and Pope leaps to his side to block it
• Newcastle launch a near-15-minute salvo on Palace’s goal, but the visitors defend admirably to enter half-time level
• Half-time: Newcastle United 0-0 Crystal Palace
• The hosts are briefly ahead until a VAR review sees their effort chalked off for a foul on Guaita
• Patrick Vieira makes three substitutions in response, bringing on Odsonne Edouard, Michael Olise and Nathaniel Clyne
• Odsonne Edouard forces a shot on goal through a crowd of legs but Pope blocks well with his legs
• Guaita makes another spectacular stop as he gets low to his right to deny Willock
• Full-time: Newcastle United 0-0 Crystal Palace

Some truisms earn their reputation for a reason, and the scoreline not telling the full story couldn’t be a more accurate phrase for Crystal Palace’s 0-0 draw with Newcastle United.

No notches on the scoreboard belies a game that had everything but goals: two goalkeepers producing remarkable performances, a VAR intervention and a first-half spell of defence v attack that could fill an entire highlights reel.

Palace will be content with taking a point from the north-east, but that’s not to say they deserved any less. With chances from Jean-Philippe Mateta, Wilfried Zaha, Odonne Edouard and Jordan Ayew all forcing Nick Pope into action, the visiting south Londoners easily could have won.

But while their offensives were sharp – largely through swift breaking play denied only by an on-song ‘keeper – their backline will dominate discussion this weekend.

Vicente Guaita enjoyed a particularly commendable performance, making several crucial saves worthy of a point in themselves; in front of him was a defence that had to work relentlessly to keep out a determined home attack.

Their ability was tested most keenly in the build-up to half-time, when Newcastle opened a salvo on the Palace goal that last almost 15 minutes.

Denied by a stoic visiting defence, the Magpies thought they had broken through in the second-half but after several minutes with medical staff on the pitch and VAR pondering its decision the goal was ruled-out for a foul on Guaita.

The second-half remained as lively as the first as both sides put one another under serious pressure: Palace mostly doing so in threatening snaps and Newcastle leaning into their guests without rest to create a similar number of chances.

The full-time whistle allowed St James’ Park’s 50,000 spectators to breathe for the first time since 3pm, and players and fans alike had plenty to discuss despite having witnessed no goals.

Ward: Guaita made "worldie saves"

18:48

Joel Ward said post-match of Vicente Guaita: “Look at the first-half, the one on one, and the second-half where he tips it onto the post. V, we know his quality, know what he can do and how quick he is. His reactions are second to none. Some games, some days, you need your ‘keepers to pull out those worldie saves and today he did that for us.”

From Vieira:

17:36

Here's what the gaffer told the press post-match: "[I'm] happy with the point. Tough place to come: a big atmosphere and we needed to defend well as a team. We did it well and fully deserve the point."

He went on to add: “This is one of my favourite grounds, to be honest with you. The atmosphere is one of the best in the country and that’s why they’re so strong at home. There is passion, there is love and any other team who comes here will find it really tough.”

Read more from Vieira here.

Man of the Match

17:00

Who gets your vote? Highlights will be shared at 23:00 BST on Palace TV if you'd rather wait to watch before voting.

Full-time: Newcastle 0-0 Crystal Palace

16:55

What a game. Palace defended heroically to secure a well-earned point.

Stay tuned for the reaction.

90+1 mins

On: Chris Wood

Off: Alexander Isaak

Not long to go

90 mins

We're approaching five lengthy minutes of injury time and Newcastle are going all-out.

Palace are defending heroically across the board.

86 mins

Willock will be hugely disappointed with that, skimming the ball wide from six yards.

82 mins

Another close effort and another solid save: this time Ayew forces Pope into action by drilling the ball at his near post.

79 mins

On: Dan Burn

Off: Matt Targett

Take a bow, VG

77 mins

If Pope's save was impressive, Guaita has just taken the stakes up a notch.

The Spaniard makes another sensational stop low to his right as Willock fizzed a ball towards the bottom corner.

CLOSE!

73 mins

Pope does excellently well to deny Odsonne Edouard with his legs.

The French forward jinked and twisted through a forest of legs to force a shot on goal, but Pope reacted very fast to send the ball wide.

70 mins

On: Jacob Murphy, Elliot Anderson

Off: Miguel Almirón, Ryan Fraser

Palace subs

63 mins

On: Odsonne Edouard, Michael Olise, Nathaniel Clyne

Off: Eberechi Eze, Jean-Philippe Mateta, Tyrick Mitchell

Great shift, lads.

61 mins

Good from Jordan Ayew, who cuts inside on the halfway line and feeds a smart ball to Mateta.

The Frenchman is still a long way for goal but strides forward and sends the ball bouncing into Pope's gloves.

That sort of swift counter could prove crucial this half.

58 mins

We've got a proper game on our hands here.

Almirón strikes wide of the far post from a shallow angle.

VAR: Newcastle goal disallowed

52 mins

Newcastle have had a goal ruled out for a foul on Vicente Guaita after seemingly taking the lead.

The 'keeper was clattered by Joe Willock and couldn't block the ball, requiring medical attention afterwards.

He and Willock are both playing now after treatment.

We're back underway

46 mins

No changes for either team and thankfully we're starting this half calmer than we ended the first.

Let's go, lads!

The numbers

15:55

Palace stats shown first

• Possession: 50% v 50%
• Shots: 7 v 13
• Corners: 1 v 6

Half-time: Newcastle United 0-0 Crystal Palace

15:50

If that was all a bit more for you towards the end:

Newcastle started on the front foot before Palace landed the first shot on target to balance the scales.

The Eagles enjoyed a strong spell of their own, with Jean-Philippe Mateta carving out a chance in the box and forcing Nick Pope into action.

For the final 10 minutes of the first-half the visitors' backline and Vicente Guaita withstood a relentless attacking spell from the hosts. They went into half-time with the Magpies' frontline doubtless spent.

And breathe.

15:48

The referee's whistle ends Newcastle's salvo: it's half-time.

Palace's backline did incredibly well to keep the hosts out there, blocking chance after chance raining down on goal. That could prove to be a crucial display of resilience.

42 mins

The hosts hit the side netting again before Sven Botman inadvertently headed wide.

This is a real test for Palace, but they're holding up well.

40 mins

Palace are weathering a storm here; Andersen has just slid across the deck to block an Almirón cross.

Chaos in the box

35 mins

Tough to describe about one minute of football there. Guaita made an excellent save from a close-range header and the ball began to hurtle back towards the line, only for Cheick Doucouré to slide in and clear.

Someone in black and white then thwacked at the goal only Marc Guéhi to deflect it over.

From the resulting corner the ball again pinged around the box and Palace made several clearances before Miguel Almirón struck the post.

From another corner the ball sailed out for a throw, before Guaita blocked Ryan Fraser as the No.21 cut in from the left.

One more corner, and the linesman raised his flag. Got all that?

31 mins

Palace look a lot stronger, and seem to be enjoying playing with a relatively volatile crowd around them.

CLOSE!

27 mins

Mateta goes close by bringing the ball down and striking on the spin from 10 yards. Nick Pope does very well to get a hand to it.

He then heads high into Pope's hands from the resulting corner.

20 mins

Joelinton puts one wide from a clever, first-time Kieran Trippier cross, catching the side netting deceptively.

GREAT SAVE, VG

16 mins

That is expert from Vicente Guaita: standing strong until the final moment to deny Alexander Isak as he burst through one-on-one.

Guaita held his ground well enough to block Isak's attempted chip, having closed the space fast enough to prevent anything from going around him. Excellent goalkeeping.

11 mins

We've settled down a little here. Newcastle are moving the ball forward with real speed and intent, but so far the Palace backline has been more than capable in dealing with it.

The only shot on target remains Zaha's.

It's worth noting at this point that five of the last six games at St James' between these sides finished 1-0. The seventh? A 3-3 draw, with Wilfried Zaha bagging a 90th-minute equaliser on his return to the club. The entertainment factor went downhill somewhat from there.

5 mins

Marc Guéhi chips a ball in to Jean-Philippe Mateta, who wins a free-kick near the left corner flag.

Eberechi Eze steps up, and Wilfried Zaha hits a speculative but well-taken effort at Nick Pope as the ball rebounds away.

3 mins

Newcastle have started brightly, creating chances along both flanks within the first two minutes.

KICK-OFF

15:00

We're underway here at St James' Park.

Gordon on fire

14:44

Turning away from the north-east for a moment, John-Kymani Gordon has bagged a first-half hat-trick for the Under-21s: carrying Palace into a 3-0 lead over Tottenham Hotspur.

Follow the game here.

Vieira explains team selection

14:20

Patrick Vieira explained his team selection to the press pre-match, saying: “[There are] no injuries. It’s always good to have some fresh legs on the field and with what we want to take from the game as well, to get those kind of profiles of players [on the pitch] to play the way we’ve planned today.

“We know what to expect. The performance will dictate if we take three points or not. We need to focus on the way we want to play the game, knowing how good they can be at home with the support they have. We expect a really good atmosphere, but that shouldn’t stop us playing a good game of football.”

Here's a reminder of the team news:

Newcastle: Pope (GK), Targett, Botman, Schär, Trippier, Joelinton, Longstaff, Willock, Fraser, Isak, Almirón.

Subs: Darlow (GK), Burn, Lascelles, Ritchie, Lewis, Manquillo, Murphy, Anderson, Wood.

Palace: Guaita (GK), Mitchell, Guéhi, Andersen, Ward, Doucouré, Schlupp, Eze, Ayew, Zaha, Mateta.

Subs: Johnstone (GK), Clyne, Richards, Riedewald, Hughes, Milivojević, Olise, Ebiowei, Edouard.

Team news is in

14:00

Here we go: Vieira has made two changes from the Brentford draw, naming Tyrick Mitchell and Jordan Ayew in place of Nathaniel Clyne and Michael Olise.

Newcastle have also made two changes, swapping centre-backs Dan Burn and Jamaal Lascelles for Sven Botman and Fabian Schär.

Newcastle: Pope (GK), Targett, Botman, Schär, Trippier, Joelinton, Longstaff, Willock, Fraser, Isak, Almirón.

Subs: Darlow (GK), Burn, Lascelles, Ritchie, Lewis, Manquillo, Murphy, Anderson, Wood.

Palace: Guaita (GK), Mitchell, Guéhi, Andersen, Ward, Doucouré, Schlupp, Eze, Ayew, Zaha, Mateta.

Subs: Johnstone (GK), Clyne, Richards, Riedewald, Hughes, Milivojević, Olise, Ebiowei, Edouard.

13:50

Not long till team news; *just* enough time to watch Vieira’s pre-match presser.

How to follow

13:40

It’s Saturday 3pm, so head over to Palace TV+ for live audio commentary.

Subscribers were able to watch the Under-18s trump Brighton this morning. Win-win.

From the gaffer

13:30

Here’s what Vieira had to say pre-match after a frustrating draw with Brentford: “We will not control the game for 95 minutes. It will be during these periods where we have to accept the dominance of the opposition team.

“It can be in the first 15 minutes and it can be in the last 10 minutes. Against Brentford we had difficult periods but when it is five minutes to go and we are in a difficult period, we need to defend better – and that is as a team.

“We need to accept that they are playing better than us, they have the momentum and it’s about rolling our sleeves up, working hard and defending our goal and we didn’t do it.

“That’s what we need to improve on, to understand and to accept.”

Read more from Vieira here.

Go on, lads!

13:27

Palace Under-18s thumped Brighton 3-0 this morning. A good omen.

Now the Under-21s take on Spurs. Follow the game through our dedicated Academy Twitter account.

13:25

Waiting for kick-off? Brush up on your pre-match knowledge in our preview here.

Find out tactics, recent results and more.

Tough draw

13:10

Palace enter the game with a draw, win and loss from their last three games, and just one point keeping them below the Magpies. Eddie Howe’s men enter this game with two draws and a loss behind them.

They’ve drawn three of their opening five, so will be looking to finish more matches going forward. It’s been the same for Palace, conceding late against Brentford and taking a point from Liverpool despite going ahead in the first-half.

In 2021/22 Palace notched 15 draws and Newcastle 10, among the most in the league. Fans can expect whoever goes ahead in this clash to fight tooth and nail to stay in the lead.

Welcome to the gods

13:00

Palace fans are prepping their quads for a journey into the ether here at St James’ Park, as Crystal Palace prepare to take on Newcastle United.

It’s been a hunting ground of mixed results for the south Londoners lately, with four losses and two wins from their last six in the north-east.

Today we’ll bring you all the pre-match build-up, match action and reaction throughout the day. So stay tuned.