Jekyll and Hyde Palace Forced to Share Spoils with Determined Cherries

As the sun blazed down on south London on Saturday afternoon, both Crystal Palace and Bournemouth went in search of their first league win of the season. The pair footed the Premier League table coming into the encounter, yet were made to wait that bit longer for their first victory of the campaign as a late Scott Dann header secured the hosts a point after Josh King had put the away side in front in the first half.  

Alan Pardew opted for an unfamiliar 4-4-2 formation to kick off Palace’s second home league game of the season. While the Eagles have routinely opted for a more counter attacking approach, with Pardew favouring a lone striker, against a Bournemouth side that would look to soak up pressure before hitting the London side on the break through Jordon Ibe and and King, a more offensive system felt needed. 

Indeed, Pardew partnered club-record signing Christian Benteke and Connor Wickham in attack, yet the decision to do so backfired early on. Yohan Cabaye and James McArthur were overrun in the middle of the park by Bournemouth’s midfield three of Andrew Surman, Harry Arter and Ryan Fraser, with the Cherries lining up in a 4-3-3 formation with the ball and a 4-5-1 when out of possession. 

Having been been caught out in the midfield on too many occasions in the opening exchanges after King put Bournemouth 1-0 up, Pardew swapped to a more accustomed 4-2-3-1 formation, with Wickham out on the left, Andros Townsend on the right and Jason Puncheon behind Benteke. It failed to have an immediate impact on Palace’s fortunes, though that in part was due to Artur Boruc’s penalty stop to deny Cabaye, but even then, the hosts were well matched in every area of the pitch.  

However, while Bournemouth edged the first half, Palace absolutely dominated the second from the outset. Of the 24 shots the hosts had over the 90 minutes, 20 came after the interval as Palace huffed and puffed to finally find a way past Boruc in the Bournemouth net. Furthermore, 76% possession to Bournemouth’s 24% in the second half highlighted just how effective Pardew’s side can be when they need to play on the front foot. Bournemouth came close to beating the London side at their own game on Saturday afternoon, yet came undone following a pinpoint Dann header deep into injury time. 

The attacking charge was led by Puncheon, whose WhoScored rating (9.16) was better than any other player in the encounter, with he providing the assist for Dann’s equaliser. The 30-year-old was effective throughout the fixture, playing six key passes, but was far more influential were brought into a central role. Having started on the right, it wasn’t until Pardew re-deployed the 30-year-old that Puncheon began to have a far greater impact. 

That of course coincided with the introduction of Wilf Zaha with 25 minutes to play. The winger has been strongly linked with a move to Tottenham recently and started the stalemate on the bench, yet the squad was visibly lifted after Pardew brought him on. Importantly, though, was that the Palace boss had two out and out wingers in Zaha and Townsend following the former’s introduction, with Wickham understandably lost when shifted out to the left flank having started the game centrally. 

Once Zaha came on, though, Palace applied ample pressure to the Bournemouth defence, with his three dribbles bettered only by Puncheon (5) of all players. In fact it almost came to pass that Palace’s profligacy proved to be their downfall. While Puncheon and Zaha were creating for their teammates, the hosts were struggling to put their chances away. 

Of course, fortune at times favoured the visitors, but that only five of Palace's 24 shots hit the target - including Cabaye’s penalty miss and Dann’s goal - is cause for concern. Palace’s top goalscorers - Wickham, Dann, Cabaye and the recently-departed Yannick Bolasie - each hit five goals last season, a return not nearly good enough for a Premier League side that scored the third fewest goals in the division. The arrival of Christian Benteke will ease the burden on the attackers, but even he failed to have a substantial impact.

The Belgian may have won Palace’s first half penalty, but he mustered just three shots and was flagged offside five times. Once he returns to full fitness, Benteke can be expected to lead the line with aplomb, but today’s draw with Bournemouth highlighted the need for him to quickly find his scoring boots. Ultimately, Pardew will have been disappointed not to land all three points, but there are positives to take from the stalemate. He’ll be keen to retain Zaha’s services and if that comes to pass, he, Puncheon and Townsend can form a formidable attack behind Benteke.

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