AFC Bournemouth 0-0 C Palace

AFC Bournemouth 0-0 C Palace



Alan Pardew arrived on the south coast smiling and will have left in similar fashion after stretching Crystal Palace’s unbeaten streak to five matches but he still found it tough down to pin down Eddie Howe. Pardew, who twice tried to sign the Bournemouth manager as a player while in charge at both West Ham and Reading, sorely missed the added pizzazz of the winger Yannick Bolasie, who missed the trip with a back injury.

Pardew’s men had already recorded wins on the road at Chelsea, Liverpool and Stoke this season but never really looked like racking up another on the south coast, despite evidently shaking off any Christmas hangovers with an assured and strong display. Palace’s commanding defensive pairing of Damien Delaney and Scott Dann rarely looked unnerved but the draw means Bournemouth extended their unbeaten run to six matches. Palace can still very much dream of playing European football next year, after Manchester United’s defeat at home to Stoke moved them up to fifth.

Glenn Murray was handed a start against the club he scored 44 goals for across a four-year spell at the club and was serenaded by the away supporters throughout but was guilty of losing possession for the Cherries when the Palace captain, Delaney, stole the ball away before picking out Campbell, whose curling effort failed to test Boruc.

Fraizer Campbell, making just his second league start of the season, had Artur Boruc back-pedaling after nine minutes when his strike deflected off Adam Smith and narrowly over the hosts’ goal. From the resulting corner, the Bournemouth captain, Simon Francis, hooked the ball clear after Delaney had poked it goalwards.

As Manchester United continue to crave a presence on the touchline, Pardew, who is in early talks over a new contract at Selhurst Park, patrolled the touchline with his pen and paper, kicking every ball. Pardew was his usual breezy self, giving the thumbs up to home fans before watching his side slowly lose their grip on proceedings. First, he lambasted Wilfried Zaha for failing to track Junior Stanislas.

Bournemouth grew into the game, after struggling to contain Palace for much of the opening stages. The Palace defender Joel Ward, who made 16 appearances for Bournemouth while on loan at the club, struggled to contain Stanislas, whop floated the ball across from the left seemingly for Murray, only for Matt Ritchie, arriving late into the box, to nod his header wide of Wayne Hennessey’s goal. Then the Bournemouth right-back Adam Smith swung the ball in from the opposite flank but his cross evaded the legs of Murray at the back post.

The meeting of two of the Premier League’s form teams was never going to be a classic nor an open affair despite their attacking styles. And there was certainly no love lost between the two sides here. The Bournemouth midfielder Harry Arter was booked by the referee, Michael Oliver, for a late, crunching challenge on Zaha and Charlie Daniels upended Jordon Mutch in his tracks. Arter did not return for the second half, instead replaced by his Republic of Ireland team-mate, Eunan O’Kane, who immediately tested Hennessey with a shot from distance.

Murray, who in contrast received cuddles and smiles during the pre-match handshakes, almost looked like a man who did not want to score against his old club, when his tame 55th minute effort failed to trouble Hennessey, following a driving run from the midfielder Dan Gosling.

While Pardew threw on Yohan Cabaye, the club’s £10m record signing, Howe – who is close to sealing a loan move for the Roma forward Juan Iturbe – sent on the South Africa striker Tokelo Rantie, who has not scored since October last year, but he, too, failed to trouble a gritty Palace defence.

Guardian