Crystal Palace succumbed to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of West Bromwich Albion in this afternoon's Premier League clash at Selhurst Park.
James Morrison headed into the unmarked net just two minutes into the game and his side held out until half time as the Eagles laid siege to their goal.
Seven minutes into the second half, a thumping 25-yard drive from Craig Gardner put the Baggies two up to deflate Palace, for whom a goal had seemed imminent.
It just was not to be Palace's day as chance after chance went amiss, with Tony Pulis's charges seeing the game out to all but secure Premier League safety.
Here, Sports Mole analyses the game to see if the Baggies were worthy winners.
Match statistics
CRYSTAL PALACE
Shots: 19
On target: 4
Possession: 68%
Corners: 7
Fouls: 17
WEST BROMWICH ALBION
Shots: 8
On target: 4
Possession: 32%
Corners: 6
Fouls: 17
Was the result fair?
Based on the match statistics, no. Palace were dominant across the board and, were it not for some lacklustre finishing and an inspired display by Boaz Myhill, not to mention two legitimate Eagles penalty calls turned down by referee Jonathan Moss, it could have been a completely different game.
West Brom made the most of a Palace defence that had not so much got into gear as not got the engine started, while Gardner's goal in the second half was a sensational strike. Despite a good defensive display from Albion, the hosts were more than capable of bagging a few goals.
Crystal Palace's performance
Eagles manager Alan Pardew will be gutted that his side could not even breach the opposition net as they weighed in with chance after chance. Glenn Murray was unlucky not to add to his six goals in six appearances, while Wilfried Zaha and Yannick Bolasie were also constant menaces. Goalkeeper Julian Speroni did little for the majority of the game except pick the ball out of the net, such was West Brom's general lack of threat up front, but the defence should have done much better to stop Morrison from heading into the unmarked net early on.
West Brom's performance
A classic smash-and-grab masterclass by Pulis. His side were quickest out of the starting blocks and deservedly punished the napping Palace defence to nab an early goal, but it truly looked as though they would have gone on to concede as the hosts laid siege to their area. The Baggies were compact and organised, holding off their opponents, while also enjoying some slices of luck, although they were also denied a penalty shout that could have seen them double their lead in the first half. They shrugged that setback off to take their lead into the break before striking swiftly once again in the 52nd minute through Gardner. Palace never gave up though, so West Brom still had work to do, and they held tight thereafter before eventually seeing the game out.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Yannick Bolasie: The Palace winger was the standout player on the pitch today and should have really been rewarded with a goal for his endeavours. Every ball that he whipped into the box was a tense moment for Myhill, while his stunning overhead effort would have gone down as one of the goals of the season had it gone in.
Biggest gaffe
The refereeing performance will be covered just below, so the entire Palace defence are nominated here for allowing Morrison to head home West Brom's first goal after less than two minutes on the clock.
Referee performance
Not the best of games for Jonathan Moss, as he waved away three legitimate penalty calls. Victor Anichebe was brought down in the box by Mile Jedinak on the quarter-hour mark, and this was turned down. Zaha was then clattered by Gardner in the 26th minute, and again nothing was given. Completing the hat-trick of bad calls is the incident between Gardner and Zaha just after the restart. On the plus side, he was correct to disallow Yaya Sanogo's late goal.
What next?
Palace: The Eagles, safely nestled in mid-table, welcome Hull City to Selhurst Park next Saturday.
West Brom: The Baggies, all but safe after today's win, welcome Liverpool to The Hawthorns next Saturday.
Giuseppe Labellarte
