Evann Guessand’s 90th-minute winner finally broke Wolves’ resistance and eased, at least for a few days, the tension swirling around Selhurst Park as Crystal Palace scraped a 1-0 victory over the Premier League’s bottom club. On a day dominated by protest banners, muttered dissent and questions over Oliver Glasner’s future, a substitute on loan from Aston Villa supplied Palace’s first home league win since 1 November and only their second victory in 16 matches in all competitions.
The margin could hardly have been finer. Palace had laboured badly against opponents reduced to 10 men for the final half-hour after Ladislav Krejci’s needless red card, and they were indebted to Dean Henderson for a first-half penalty save from Tolu Arokodare that prevented Wolves from taking the lead their enterprise probably merited. Yet when Tyrick Mitchell’s low cross was turned in by Guessand at the near post in the final minute of normal time, the noise inside a previously mutinous Selhurst Park told its own story.
The result lifts Palace to 35 points, 10 clear of the relegation zone, and momentarily cools the temperature around a manager who has already announced he will leave when his contract expires in the summer. For Wolves, who had looked the more convincing side for long spells, it was a punishing outcome that leaves them marooned on 10 points and still chasing the draw that would take them level with Derby County’s record for the lowest total in a Premier League season.
Banners, boos and a fractured Selhurst mood