Crystal Palace fought back from 2-0 goals down to rescue a point against West Ham on Saturday afternoon. Javier Hernandez got himself on the scoresheet in the first-half before a wonderful solo effort from Andre Ayew double the lead for Slaven Bilic’s side. However, a second-half penalty from Milivojevic cut the deficit in half for Palace. Wilfried Zaha’s 96th-minute equaliser completed a terrific turn around from Roy Hodgson’s side.
West Ham’s cup heroics quickly forgotten after second-half demise
No-one would’ve expected West Ham to beat Tottenham in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night, especially when they went two goals down. However, their heroic resilience to fight back and bag a 3-2 win seemed to be a real turning point for Slaven Bilic in the midst of growing pressure.
It was roles reversal here, though, with West Ham the team to succumb their advantage and it’s no surprise Bilic reflected on the result ‘feeling like a loss’. The first forty-five saw West Ham dominate in the middle of the park, showing good composure to spray the ball around through Mark Noble and Andre Ayew – the later of whom delivered a stunning solo goal.
However, it was the final stages of the game where West Ham let themselves down. Showing good resolve to slow the tempo down after conceding the first and restoring some order, the away side failed to track back in the dying embers of the match to allow Wilfried Zaha to score.
Wilfried Zaha comes up trumps again
If anyone was going to pull Crystal Palace back into the game, it was always going to be Wilfried Zaha. Upon his return from injury, the side have received a relative upturn in results, with the winger delivering the winning goal against Chelsea prior to his stoppage time equaliser against The Hammers. The goal was the second-latest scored in the Premier League this season – second to Raheem Sterling’s winner at Bournemouth in August.
The Nigerian international missed six of seven defeats suffered by The Eagles at the start of the season but has since proved a vital tool for Roy Hodgson to use as he battles to escape the relegation zone.