Crystal Palace’s Marouane Chamakh scores twice to knock out Southampton
Southampton 2 - 3 C PalaceGraziano Pelle 9
Scott Dann 16 o.g.
Marouane Chamakh 11
Yaya Sanogo 21
Marouane Chamakh 39
Marouane Chamakh rounds Southampton’s Fraser Forster to score Crystal Palace’s third goal at St Mary’s Stadium. Photograph: Shaun Boggust/Colorsport/Corbis
Anyone who questions whether the FA Cup really has magical powers should watch this match and see how it transformed Marouane Chamakh into a Moroccan version of Dennis Bergkamp.
Perhaps this was a one-off. Maybe it will never happen again. After all, Chamakh was booked for a preposterous dive on his previous appearance here and the Southampton supporters greeted his first few touches with boos. Yet this was a performance to cherish from the much-maligned Crystal Palace striker after more than a month out with a hamstring injury.
Chamakh, in his unlikely role as a roving No10, was outstanding for Alan Pardew’s side and it was his two goals that stunned Southampton and fired Palace into the fifth round. “I thought he was the best player on the pitch,” Pardew said. “The guys said to me you’re going to get a lift when he plays.”
It was a weird and wonderful afternoon. There was the unusual sound of Pardew being serenaded by his own supporters, there were five goals in the first half – including a comical own goal from Scott Dann – and then there was the frankly bizarre sight of Yaya Sanogo as the Thierry Henry or Nicolas Anelka to Chamakh’s Bergkamp. Sanogo has had his critics, but it was a stylish finish that brought him his first goal for Palace since joining them on loan from Arsenal.
Isn’t the FA Cup great when everything falls into place? Both sides were as demob happy as schoolchildren on the last day of term and played as though their minds were elsewhere when defensive instructions were handed out before kick-off. Southampton have the meanest defence in the Premier League, but they had none of their usual solidity. “Something about the Cup opens up the game a little bit,” Pardew said. “It’s difficult to put your finger on it.”
The action was relentless in the first half and Pardew admitted that he feared the worst when Graziano Pellè gave Southampton the lead after nine minutes. James Ward-Prowse swung a corner into the six-yard box from the left and Palace’s defenders stood and gawped as Pellè’s volley squirmed past Wayne Hennessey.
Pardew has now won all four of his matches since replacing Neil Warnock and he has made Palace play with a smile again. “We had that flamboyance,” he said.
Indeed they did. Southampton had barely finished celebrating Pellè’s goal when a shoddy piece of keeping from Fraser Forster culminated in Palace equalising two minutes later. With Nathaniel Clyne caught out of position, Chamakh released Sanogo, whose firm shot from the left was spilled by Forster. The ball broke loose and there was Chamakh to force it in from close range.
Southampton were all over the place and it was not long before they were carved open again by the Chamakh-Sanogo combination. Chamakh chipped the ball through and Sanogo shot, but Forster redeemed himself.
It seemed Palace would regret that miss when Southampton scored with their next attack. Ryan Bertrand’s cross from the left caused a communication breakdown in the defence and Dann’s needless intervention diverted the ball past Hennessey.
Palace would not lie down and Southampton remained unconvincing out of possession, their midfield never giving their error-prone defence enough protection. Chamakh threatened from 20 yards and then, with 21 minutes gone, Wilfried Zaha dodged a timid challenge from Bertrand and set up Sanogo, who finished like a natural.
Regular watchers of Arsenal will probably be surprised and amused in equal measure to learn of Chamakh and Sanogo causing mayhem against the side who are third in the Premier League. Though Chamakh will be remembered as a misfit at the Emirates, there is still hope for the endearingly raw but intriguingly dangerous Sanogo. It could yet transpire that the Arsenal manager did know what he was doing when he signed him two years ago. “Arsène Wenger will be very pleased with what he’s heard,” Pardew said.
Wenger will probably also be impressed with the languid way that Chamakh put Palace ahead six minutes before the interval. Everything moved to Chamakh’s beat, the Moroccan taking Joel Ward’s pass on his chest, waiting for Forster to commit himself, delaying for just a moment, and then rolling the ball into the empty net.
Ronald Koeman’s response was to bring on Matt Targett for Florin Gardos at half-time before throwing caution to the wind by introducing Shane Long as an extra attacker. Long, however, lasted 13 minutes and had to be removed and taken to hospital after suffering a rib injury in a collision with Ward.
The closest Southampton came to forcing a replay was a stinging drive from Eljero Elia that Hennessey tipped over and they had plenty of possession in the dying stages. Yet Palace were in no mood to succumb.
Guardian
