Crystal Palace welcomed Bournemouth to Selhurst Park looking to build on an excellent FA Cup against Stoke City at the weekend.

However, things failed to go to plan for Alan Pardew's men as Bournemouth came away with a 2-1 victory, thanks to goals from Marc Pugh and Benik Afobe, which cancelled out Scott Dann's 27th-minute opener.

Bright start for Eagles

Palace started off as the better side, and after a corner was cleared by the Bournemouth defence, Chung-Yong Lee had a chance to shoot but his half-volley flew over the bar.

Bournemouth had to withstand lots of pressure from Palace, which included chances for Campbell and Lee, but the Cherries finally had a chance of their own when Damien Delaney failed to track the run of Afobe, but the striker's volley went wide from just in front of goal when he should have done much better. 

Wilfried Zaha and Lee were causing the Bournemouth defence problems and it was the pair who were crucial in the lead up to Palace's goal.

Another corner was cleared out to the wide right position and was picked up by Lee. He cleverly backheeled the ball to Zaha whose trickery outfoxed two Bournemouth defenders before he lashed a cross into the box - where Dann was waiting to volley into the net from close range. The goal gave everyone around the ground a much needed confidence boost and it was the first time a Palace player had scored in the league since Lee scored against Stoke almost two months ago.

Poor defending leads to Bournemouth equaliser

However, the lead only lasted seven minutes as a lapse in concentration in the Palace back four allowed Pugh to dribble across the edge of the penalty and place his effort beyond the desperate reach of Wayne Hennessey. The goal was very much against the run of play, but Palace had failed to take several chances and were now punished for it. 

The hosts continued to attack in the same manner that they had done prior to Bournemouth's equaliser, but chances for James McArthur and Pape Souare were put over Artur Boruc's crossbar. Frustration seemingly started to grow among the players as they continued to spurn good chances. 

To make things worse for the Selhurst Park faithful, Jordon Mutch replaced the seemingly injured McArthur at half-time, which adds to the ever-growing injury list Pardew has to deal with. The Palace manager may regret not adding further quality to his squad in the window as he now - potentially - has five key first team players out injured.

Afobe goal increases Palace frustration

The game was turned on it's head 12 minutes into the second half when Matt Ritchie's shot was parried by Hennessey - Afobe had once again found space in the Palace box and accurately lofted a header out of the 'keeper's reach and into the corner. 

Emmanuel Adebayor, who had been waiting to come on before Afobe's goal, finally made his much-anticipated Palace debut as he replaced the disappointing and ineffectual Fraizer Campbell. However, Palace's latest signing was unable to find an equaliser despite having a golden chance late in the game, which only found the side netting. 

Emmanuel Adebayor made his debut for Palace, but couldn't get a goal. | Photo: Reuters
Emmanuel Adebayor made his debut for Palace, but couldn't get a goal. | Photo: Reuters

Palace were arguably the better side throughout the contest, but huge credit must go to Bournemouth - and in particular Eddie Howe - who defended well, frustrated the home team and ultimately took their chances; which is something Palace have worryingly failed to do recently. 

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About the author
Sam Smith
VAVEL UK sub-editor. Premier League and Football League accredited journalist.