Crystal Palace 1-0 Middlesbrough

Crystal Palace finished off an amazing week with a 1-0 victory over promotion favourites Middlesbrough.

For Palace it was a similar story with in-form Darren Ambrose scoring at one end while Julian Speroni performs heroics at the other.

Neil Warnock made only one change from the side who started the 1-1 draw at Loftus Road with Freddie Sears coming into the starting eleven.

The game started evenly with chances at both ends. It was Ambrose who troubled the Middlesbrough goal first with a swerving 25-yard free-kick that narrowly missed the target. Neil Danns and Alan Lee also came close to putting Palace ahead.

Middlesbrough's best opportunity came through the highly rated winger Adam Johnson who was denied by Speroni who was branded 'the best keeper in the country' by Warnock in the week.

Palace eventually took the lead in the 64th minute as Ambrose finished cooly to bag his tenth of the season after a concise break including Alan Lee and Danns who combined to find Ambrose alone in the Boro area.

The Eagles were left once more hanging to the points with more than a hint of desperation but another couple of wonder-saves from Jules who denied first Wheater and then O'Neil to secure a crucial victory.

I said last week this week would tell us alot about our squad and you have to say taking five points from three games against top eight oppositon is fantastic when you consider our small, youthful squad.

However this week has also highlighted one glaring issue that will worry the Palace faithful in the coming weeks.

The past three games have shown how much of the burden Ambrose and Speroni take. An injury to one of them could leave us tumbling back down the table from whence wwe came. More alarming will be the January transfer window where any sizable offer will surely test Simon Jordans ambition. Some saw Warnocks comments regarding Speroni as 'touting' him to Premier League suitors with a view to selling the Argentine in the window.

Personally i would rather lose one of the procotious youngtsers over one of these two but with the state of the finances you have to think every player is up for sale.

Lucky for some 13

Crystal Palace rose to 13th in the league today as they drew 1-1 with an in-form Preston side at Deepdale.

Yet another spectacular Darren Ambrose effort secured a good away point for the Eagles as he equalised in the 37th minute.

The midfielder, who is slowly gaining a cult status amongst fans, got on the end of an Alan Lee knock down to smash home from 18-yards and bag his eighth of the season.

The equaliser came just two minutes after going behind to an expert Ross Wallace free-kick that left Speroni with little chance.

The second half saw Palace have the better of the game in terms of chances but Preston stopper Andy Lonnergan was once again on top form to twice deny the standout player on the pitch Ambrose as well as Nathanial Clyne and Stern John.

We can be extremely proud of the performance and taking a point from Deepdale is always a good result especially considering the injuries we had going into the game and obviously not to mention the off-field difficulties.

Contrary to speculation it was Clyne who once again came in at left back leaving Lee Hills to settle for a place on the bench. However the young left back did get his chance to impress as Clyne limped off in the second-half, let’s hope it isn’t a serious problem.

Claude Davis did come in at centre-back though and contributed to a commanding defensive display from the Palace rear-guard. A good sign considering the opposition we have coming up next who have an uncanny knack of scoring four goals per game of late.

Another injury concern for Tuesday’s derby clash with QPR will be Alan Lee who was forced off the field with blood streaming from a head wound. Although it’s probably the gaffer who will have a headache of the selection variety as he tries to find a recognised forward to start with Stern John. Sears didn’t make today’s game, Moses was dragged off after 50 minutes and now Alan Lee is a doubt.

I’d like to see young Cadogan or Nathanial Pinney given an opportunity from the start on Tuesday. The current crop of youngsters have been off the boil recently with Cyne out of the team, Moses finding form and goals hard to come by in equal measures and Scannel and Hills left out in the cold. I think it would give the whole place an injection of excitement both in the terraces and in the camp especially going forward where we need it most.

Mick Jones said last week he thought they were ready to come in to the team in the coming weeks and this injury crisis and lack of goals is surely a perfect excuse to throw them in.

Here's hoping!