Palace XI 1-1 Brentford B - as it happened
A strong Palace XI side were held to a draw by Brentford B in a frantic pre-season encounter at the Academy ground - relive all the action with the match blog below!
Watch LIVE
LIVE Coverage - Full-Time
-
Full-time at the Academy ground after a frenetic conclusion to this pre-season game. Both sides had chances to win it, but in the end Benteke's first-half opener and Stevens' close-range header ensure it ends level.
-
FT: Palace XI 1-1 Brentford B
-
90 mins: CHANCE! Robertson is clean through, but his effort from a tight angle is pushed away.
-
88 mins: CHANCE! A frantic end to this game. This time Omilabu comes forward, denied by the keeper from a tight angle. The ball falls to Rak-Sakyi on the volley, but his effort falls wide.
-
87 mins: CHANCE! Palace are living on the edge. A long-range strike hits the inside of Butland's post and bounces away - the Brentford B bench claim it crossed the line, but the referee is unmoved.
-
86 mins: CHANCE! Brentford break away and fire a low ball across the face of goal, but the attacker sliding in can only get a toe on the ball and can't turn it goalwards.
-
83 mins: Rak-Sakyi's ball into the box is headed clear, falling for Nathaniel Clyne on the edge of the area. His volleyed effort is struck with power but is always dropping wide.
-
82 mins: Omilabu is brought down as he cuts inside from the left, and Palace have a chance to deliver a set-piece into the penalty area. Rak-Sakyi and Omilabu stand over the ball...
-
75 mins: A triple change for Palace. David Omilabu, Sean Robertson and Aidan Steele replace Conor Gallagher, Jack Wells-Morrison and Scott Banks.
-
74 mins: Palace have the ball in the back of the net again, but the offside flag is up as Rak-Sakyi wheels away to celebrate.
-
67 mins: Banks gets behind the Brentford defence and is picked out by a wonderful pass from Kelly, but the offside flag is raised.
-
63 mins: A third substitution for Brentford, as Ben Hockenhull makes way for Tristan Crama.
-
60 mins: Both sides make changes, with Rob Street replacing Benteke for Palace, and Dominic Jefferies taking the place of Mads Bidstrup for the visitors.
-
57 mins: After a frantic few minutes, the referee takes exception with a number of physical challenges and tells both sets of players to calm down.
-
54 mins: CHANCE! Palace should be back in front. Jack Wells-Morrison finds Gallagher, who pokes the ball through to Benteke one-on-one with the goalkeeper. With the defender making up ground, the forward gets his shot away early but misses the target from the edge of the area.
-
52 mins: GOAL! Palace XI 1-1 Brentford B - Stevens. This time Butland can do nothing about it, as Fin Stevens peels off into acres of space at the far post and heads home from close-range.
-
51 mins: SAVED! Butland gets down well to his right and pushes the ball away, and Palace survive.
-
50 mins: PENALTY! A scramble from the resulting corner sees the ball bounce up onto Martin Kelly's arm, and the referee points to the spot.
-
49 mins: CHANCE! Brentford B take a short corner and catch Palace un-awares, but Butland tips over a powerful effort from Bidstrup.
-
47 mins: Brentford advance down the left and fire a ball into the far-post, but Hannam gets his body bravely in the way and Palace win the free-kick.
-
46 mins: We're back underway after a sharp turnaround, with no changes for Palace. Brentford make a change between the sticks, with Ben Winterbottom replacing Matthew Cox.
-
HT: Palace XI 1-0 Brentford B
-
39 mins: CHANCE! It should be 1-1 straight away, as Fin Stevens nips in ahead of Hannam in the Palace area and smashes it against the post from close range.
-
36 mins: GOAL! Palace XI 1-0 Brentford B - Benteke! It's a moment of real quality that breaks the deadlock. Rak-Sakyi fires a ball into the feet of Benteke on the edge of the area, who flicks it past the defender and finishes cooly.
-
34 mins: CHANCE! Palace upping the pace now. Hannam steps into midfield to cut out a clearance, and the ball falls for Banks on the edge of the area. The space opens up for a shot, but his effort is well wide.
-
32 mins: CHANCE! It's Rak-Sakyi causing problems once again, beating the Brentford defender for pace and cutting into the penalty area, before cutting back for Benteke. The pass is slightly behind the Belgian however, and the shot sails over the crossbar.
-
30 mins: Rak-Sakyi does well in midfield once again, making progress down the middle. He tries to release Benteke but the defender forces him wide.
-
27 mins: CHANCE! Banks whips a dead ball in from the right-hand side which reaches Benteke, but his headed effort hits the ground before bouncing into the arms of the goalkeeper.
-
25 mins: ...but his effort is well over Jack Butland's crossbar.
-
24 mins: Free-kick on the edge of the box for Brentford B as Nathaniel Clyne is adjudged to have brought the striker down. Nathan Young-Coombes is standing over the ball...
-
21 mins: Rak-Sakyi finds his way to the byline again, floating a ball into the area that falls just short of Benteke, and Brentford B can clear.
-
19 mins: Neat footwork from Gallagher sets Palace on their way into midfield, but the attack breaks down after a series of niggling fouls from the visitors.
-
13 mins: CHANCE! Rak-Sakyi jinks past two defenders and advances down the right-hand side, before spotting the run of Scott Banks on the edge of the box. Banks' first time effort is just over the crossbar.
-
10 mins: Rak-Sakyi makes a first run in behind but Gallgher is forced to check back, before Banks' pass fails to find Hannam on the overlap.
-
6 mins: Palace are looking to gain more control in midfield, with plenty of touches for Gallagher - but Brentford continue to press high.
-
3 mins: First chance falls to the visitors, as Bidstrup latches on to a bobbling ball in the Palace penalty area but sees his shot deflected behind.
-
1 min: Christian Benteke rolls the ball back to Conor Gallagher, and we're underway.
-
KICK-OFF
-
The players are out on a beautiful, sunny afternoon in south London, Palace in their yellow away kit and Brentford in their traditional red-and-white stripes
-
Palace XI: Butland (GK), Clyne, O'Brien, Kelly, Hannam, M. Boateng, Gallagher, Wells-Morrison, Rak-Sakyi, Benteke, Banks.
-
Welcome to LIVE web coverage of today's pre-season fixture between a strong Palace XI side and Brentford B. Keep an eye on this page for regular updates - web users may need to refresh the page to see the latest.
Team News
Gallagher starts in midfield alongisde Malachi Boateng and Jack Wells-Morrison, both of whom have made appearances for the first-team during pre-season.
Christian Benteke leads the line after his goalscoring return to action against Watford on Saturday, with Jesurun Rak-Sakyi and Scott Banks alongside him.
In defence, young prospects Reece Hannam and Jake O'Brien are boosted by the experience of Nathaniel Clyne and Martin Kelly.
Last season's Under-18s top goalscorer David Omilabu is among the substitutes.
Keep an eye on this page for live updates of how the lads are getting on. Remember, you can watch the game LIVE on Palace TV+ - find out more by clicking HERE.
Palace XI: Butland (GK), Clyne, O'Brien, Kelly, Hannam, M. Boateng, Gallagher, Wells-Morrison, Rak-Sakyi, Benteke, Banks.
Subs: Whitworth (GK), Robertson, Steele, Street, Omilabu.
Brentford B: Cox (GK), Hockenhull, Stevens, Oyegoke, Russell, Gordon, Haygarth, Bidstrup, Maghoma, Gilbert, Young-Coombes.
Subs: Winterbottom (GK), Crama, Jefferies, Trevitt, Hercules, Brook, Trialist.