Despite a much improved performance, Hull City could only manage a point in a 3-3 draw against Crystal Palace at the KCOM stadium.
It was the home side who were brightest in the early stages, yet when they opened the scoring it came in controversial circumstances. Robert Snodgrass went down in the box and referee Mike Jones pointed to the spot. Replays showed though it was a clear dive and Snodgrass, who had already been booked, should have been sent off for a second yellow card. Instead he slotted the spot-kick home to give his side a crucial lead.
Just minutes after the restart though, the game was leveled up. Snodgrass was at the centre of things again as he challenged Wilfried Zaha in the box, allowing Christian Benteke to coolly equalise from the penalty spot himself.
As both teams pushed forward to take the lead, Zaha hit a stunning goal from long range to turn the game around. Yet a quickfire double from Adama Diomande and Jake Livermore swung the match Hull’s way. In the dying moments, former City striker Frazier Campbell snatched a valuable point for the away side.
Snodgrass lucky man after “awful dive”
Gary Lineker is one of the leading football voices on Twitter. In reference to Hull’s opener, the former England forward claimed Snodgrass had acted awfully to earn his side a spot-kick. There can be few arguments to the Match of the Day host’s assessment. Even Snodgrass himself looked uneasy during the reminder of the first half, particularly when he trotted down the tunnel. In fairness the Scottish international did not plea for a penalty or roll around in agony.
Palace fans would not have much sympathy though and in hindsight he was lucky to stay on the pitch. Referee Jones, who had a poor opening 45 minutes, had much to ponder at half-time. There was a feeling that he was likely to even things up after the restart. It did not take long in the second half for that to happen.
On the next occasion it was more clear cut. Snodgrass did clip Zaha and even though it could be seen as soft, on the afternoon it was always going to be awarded given what had happened earlier in the match. Now the two incidents will create much discussion in the coming week.
Should Snodgrass be given a retrospective ban, should Jones be withdrawn from action after a poor display, should referees be so quick to equal things up? Yet one thing is for sure, the men trying to keep order on the pitch need more help.
Few in the ground knew, at real speed, that Snodgrass had dived. In the week where video replays for will be used for the first time at the Club World Championships, more needs to be done to ensure games are not defined by such incidents.
Palace show defensive falters again
In their last away game, Alan Pardew’s side conceded twice in injury time as they were beaten 5-4 in Wales against Swansea. History almost repeated itself at the KCOM as Hull fought from 2-1 down to lead with just minutes to go. If it was not for Campbell’s late equaliser then Palace would have been on the end of another disappointing defeat.
Conceding seven goals in their last two away matches is a worrying trend for Palace. At Swansea, set pieces were their downfall while in the second half at Hull it was a lack of concentration and failing to follow runners which cost them. No side have let in more goals this season than the London outfit and they can not keep relying on the likes of Zaha to dig them out of the holes that they have created for themselves.
Hope for Pardew and company comes in the fact that they did beat Southampton last week 3-0. They restricted the Saints to just half chances in a commanding performance, but that match appears to be the anomaly in a season defined by poor defending. Palace must improve at the back if they are not to spend the rest of campaign worrying about the drop.
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