Crystal Palace 1 Hull City 0
Crystal Palace boosted their bid to avoid relegation from the Premier League as Jason Puncheon’s goal clinched a 1-0 win over Hull tonight.
Palace have steadily improved since Tony Pulis replaced Ian Holloway as manager in November and Puncheon’s first half winner at Selhurst Park moved the hosts five points clear of the bottom three.
The Eagles’ second successive victory also atoned for a disappointing FA Cup fourth round exit at Championship side Wigan on Saturday. It was a frustrating evening for Hull, who finished with 10 men after goalkeeper Allan McGregor was sent off in the final moments.
Irish striker Shane Long, who joined Hull from West Bromwich Albion earlier this month, formed a new-look £14 million strike-force with fellow January signing Nikica Jelavic, who recently arrived from Everton.
In contrast to Hull’s spending spree, Pulis was this week forced to deny reports that he was considering quitting over the club’s lack of success in the transfer market since he took over from Holloway.
The former Stoke boss has often spoken of the need to improve Palace’s squad, but the Eagles have yet to add to their squad so far during the transfer window.
Hull boss Steve Bruce might have felt his heavy investment would pay immediate dividends as the visitors made a lively start.
Jelavic almost got on the end of a low cross but the Croatian couldn’t quite stretch to steer the ball home.
Long was next to trouble the Palace defence, causing a long ball into the penalty area before tumbling under a challenge from Danny Gabbidon. Bruce was furious when referee Roger East waved away Hull’s appeals for a penalty.
And Hull’s anger increased as Palace took the lead in the 16th minute when midfielder Puncheon fired hom form eight yards after his initial header hit team-mate Marouane Chamakh on the back.
Bruce’s team pressed hard for an equaliser in the second half, with Long and Jelavic both wasting chances before Liam Rosenior stabbed wide from a golden opportunity.
But Hull were reduced to 10 men when Stuart O’Keefe caught McGregor with a late tackle, prompting an angry reaction from the keeper.
After a bout of shoving between the pair, referee East showed McGregor the red card and with Hull having used all their substitutes, midfielder Tom Huddlestone had to go in goal.
Even so, Steve Quinn came agonisingly close to equalising for Hull with virtually the last kick of the game, but his shot flashed wide.
Chris Radburn/PA Wire/Press Association Images
Norwich 0 Newcastle 0
NEWCASTLE UNITED BEGAN what looks like life without star Frenchman Yohan Cabaye with a disappointing 0-0 draw away at relegation-threatened Norwich City in their Premier League clash tonight.
The Magpies, who have not beaten Norwich at Carrow Road since January 1994, will wonder how they came away with just a point as they peppered the hosts’ goal only for either the woodwork or goalkeeper John Ruddy to deny them.
Both sides also ended the game with 10 men as Newcastle striker Loic Remy and Norwich defender Bradley Johnson were sent off following an ugly confrontation eight minutes from time.
Newcastle, who were without Cabaye as he finalises a transfer to French champions Paris Saint-Germain, were magnificent in the first half and should have had all three points wrapped up by the interval.
Norwich had Ruddy to thank for keeping them in the game, though, as the visitors had 14 shots on target to the hosts’ two in the first 45 minutes.
Ruddy, who is on the fringes of the England squad, did brilliantly on two occasions, first to deny Remy and then to beat away a stinging drive from Hatem Ben Arfa.
The Magpies also hit the bar twice, first from a superb long-range effort by Remy and then when the same player’s shot was saved by Ruddy and hit Johnson on the back before striking the frame of the goal.
Ben Arfa then missed a relatively easy opportunity before Norwich nearly went ahead against the run of play when former Celtic star Gary Hooper saw his shot from outside the box saved well by Dutchman Tim Krul.
Newcastle started the second half in the same lively fashion and thought they had a good shout for a penalty when Ben Arfa went down heavily under a challenge by Ryan Bennett — referee Chris Foy gave it some thought before ruling in the hosts’ favour.
Newcastle were all over Norwich but once again found the most resilient defender against them was the woodwork as Remy’s excellent free-kick in the 63rd minute came back off the bar.
The pace slowed markedly after that and it was Hooper who went closest to breaking the deadlock as his shot hit the crossbar, but an exciting game turned ugly with eight minutes remaining.
Remy and Johnson had an altercation which resulted in the latter collapsing theatrically to the gound after the Frenchman stupidly led with his head — Foy though did not spare the Norwich defender and sent him for an early shower as well.
Nick Potts/PA Wire/Press Association Images
Swansea 2 Fulham 0
Two deflected second-half goals by Jonjo Shelvey and Chico Flores gave Swansea City a 2-0 win against Fulham tonight as Michael Laudrup’s side gave themselves breathing space in the Premier League relegation battle.
Shelvey set Swansea on their way in the 61st minute with an effort that took two deflections on its way into the net, and Chico’s near-post header came off Dimitar Berbatov to double the hosts’ lead with quarter of an hour remaining.
The victory was a timely one for the hosts, ending a sequence of three straight Premier League defeats and eight top-flight matches without a win.
The Welsh outfit move provisionally six points clear of the relegation zone, while Fulham remain just one point above the danger zone after this, their third successive league loss.
Fulham head coach Rene Meulensteen made 11 changes to his side following the weekend draw at third-tier Sheffield United in the FA Cup, and there were numerous changes to the Swansea side too.
After coming off the bench to score twice against Birmingham City in the Cup, Ivorian striker Wilfried Bony was rewarded with a starting slot and he almost got an early opener for the hosts, heading narrowly over from Wayne Routledge’s cross.
Fulham came into the game and an unmarked Brede Hangeland headed over the bar from a wicked Kieran Richardson free-kick delivery before an Alexander Kacaniklic cross was headed goalwards by Ashkan Dejagah, only for Gerhard Tremmel to save.
Shelvey then saw a superb first-time curling effort from 25 yards come crashing back off the bar just before the interval, but it was the former Liverpool man who got the breakthrough shortly after the hour mark.
There was more than a touch of fortune about the goal, as Nathan Dyer teed up Shelvey, whose shot came off Steve Sidwell and then took a huge deflection off Hangeland before nestling in the back of the net.
Shelvey got the winner when the Swans won 2-1 at Craven Cottage in the reverse fixture in November and they made sure of the points against a flat Fulham side when Chico scored on 75 minutes.
The Spanish defender, who made headlines last week following a training ground bust-up with teammate Garry Monk, got his head to a Jonathan De Guzman free-kick, and this time the ball came off Berbatov to trump Maarten Stekelenburg.
