Hero Morrison not Taylor-made for Palace
Morrison stepped off the bench to secure a 1-0 win for Palace against Kevin Blackwell’s 10-man side – a result that took Taylor’s side two points clear at the top of the Coca-Cola Championship and preserved their 100% start to the campaign.
Leeds looked as they would overcome the loss of Geoff Horsfield, who was shown a straight red card in the 15th minute following a tangle with Palace defender Mark Hudson, to earn a point, but Morrison’s late effort condemned them to their first defeat of the campaign.
“I told Clinton to give me a kiss if he scored the winner,” said Taylor. “He got the goal – but then he bottled it! If Clinton was as fit as he knows he can be, then I couldn’t afford a player of that standard. He has a bit to do to be as fit as I want him to be.
“Clinton had an injection to cure a knee injury, and that means he has not had a proper pre-season. But he has been great.
“Now he goes away to join the Republic of Ireland squad (for their friendly against Holland) and he needs to keep working hard and training hard.”
Neither Taylor – nor his Leeds counterpart Kevin Blackwell – claimed to have seen the incident that saw Horsfield sent off, although Taylor noted: “Mark is not the type of player who goes down without being touched.”
Hudson himself revealed: “It was a collision. I felt a whack on the back of the head. He raised an arm to me, and it hurt. If you raise an arm, you have to go off.
“Horsfield said he didn’t touch me, but I would not go down for nothing. I stepped across him and went for the ball, but I felt something on the back of my head and went down.”
Blackwell insisted his team had deserved a point after watching them concede their second injury-time goal in two matches, following Shabazz Baidoo’s strike that rescued a draw for QPR in midweek.
Blackwell said: “In life, you do not always get what you deserve. We looked a good team even when we were down to 10 men. I did not see the sending-off, because I was talking to the fourth official, and I didn’t find out what happened because I had to sort out the team.”
The Leeds boss added: “I don’t want to be losing points, but I believe it was a strong performance from a good Leeds side.”
Blackwell also refused to comment on reports that Chelsea have made an illegal approach to lure 10-year-old Leeds schoolboy Lewie Coyle – allegations strenuously denied by the champions.
CRYSTAL PALACE: Kiraly, Granville, Hudson, Cort, Butterfield, Soares (Morrison 73), Watson (Freedman 45), Kennedy, McAnuff, Fletcher, Scowcroft.
LEEDS: Warner, Kelly, Crainey, Kilgallon, Butler, Westlake, Derry, Stone (Carole 90), Lewis (Richardson 74), Horsfield, Healy (Moore 76).
Referee: R Styles (Hampshire).
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