Primus delivers knockout blow to poor Palace

Crystal Palace 0 Portsmouth 1

Primus’ header after 63 minutes was the knockout blow for a Palace side who were let down by their wastefulness up front and a lapse in concentration at the back.

The victory hauled Portsmouth further away from the relegation quicksand, but left Palace without a Barclays Premiership win since October. The prospect of an instant return to the Football League is looming larger every week for Iain Dowie.

Portsmouth head coach Joe Jordan explained afterwards: “For both teams it was a massive, massive game. Palace had the opportunity to close the gap and we had opportunity to maintain that gap or increase it.

“We have increased it and that shows how vital win it was for us today. This morning they were on 14 points and we were on 23 so that is a massive result for us.”

Palace had had the better of the match before Primus popped up to score, but lacked a final ball in front of goal that would have given them the lead and possibly the points.

Andrew Johnson and Ben Watson both had first-half efforts well saved by Hislop and even when Michael Hughes and Gonzalo Sorondo forced him to parry the ball back into the area, no Palace player could get a boot on it.

Dowie was frustrated afterwards but refused to concede Palace’s battle against the drop is a lost cause.

“Against a passing side we out-passed them. We have played a Portsmouth side with established Premiership players and we have had the ball massive amounts,” he said.

“Our final ball isn’t quite good enough and we are maybe not getting that little bounce - when the ball dropped out we should get the rebound. And Hislop pulls off a great save from Sorondo at the end.

“We go to sleep once on a corner and outside that and five minutes after half-time we clearly dominated the game.

“I am sick and tired of getting nothing out of games we should have got something out of. It is for us to get some points. That will be done by standing together. I thought we played with great endeavour and great hunger,” said Dowie.

But they remain starved of points. Palace have not won a Premiership game in nine attempts and have managed just two points from their last 21.

They were denied yesterday when Primus stepped up to meet Patrik Berger’s inswinging corner and score what is usually a rare goal for the centre-back - even on the training field.

CRYSTAL PALACE: Kiraly, Butterfield, Sorondo, Hall, Granville, Routledge (Freedman 70), Riihilahti (Andrews 84), Watson (Soares 63), Hughes, Kolkka, Johnson.

PORTSMOUTH: Hislop, Griffin, De Zeeuw, Primus, Taylor, Mezague (Kamara 56), Stone, Faye, Quashie, Berger, Yakubu (Fuller 56).

Referee: N Barry (N Lincolnshire).