Basement battle ends all square

Southampton 2 Crystal Palace 2

Andreas Jakobsson saved face for Southampton just as fellow strugglers Crystal Palace had looked set to leave St Mary’s with maximum points, but the home side were still jeered by a section of fans at the end of another tough afternoon.

Andy Johnson’s ninth goal of the season put Palace ahead on 49 minutes, but Kevin Phillips equalised a minute later, only for Wayne Routledge’s deflected effort to restore the south London team’s lead.

Saints deservedly levelled and could easily have clinched victory – although there were jeers from some of their long-suffering fans at the end.

It was a change of fortune for Jakobsson to be the hero. It was his header that slipped past on-loan goalkeeper Kasey Keller to give Portsmouth a brief lead a fortnight back in the south coast derby.

That was one own goal, and although Routledge will claim the strike that gave Palace a 54th minute 2-1 advantage today, it was a clear deflection off Jakobsson which helped it into the net.

Saints were without star striker James Beattie because of a calf injury, another blow to the former England man who crashed his £114,000 car earlier in the week.

Phillips replaced Beattie and Saints also had to make a change at the back where Claus Lundekvam suffered a similar knock and Jakobsson was recalled.

It was a big match for Palace boss Iain Dowie, a former Saints striker, and he named an unchanged side.

It was the first meeting in seven years between the two clubs, but the game marked a quick return to St Mary’s for Palace defender Fitz Hall who joined from Saints at the start of the season.

On a murky afternoon, with the floodlights on from the start, a narrow offside decision stopped Andy Johnson breaking through in the opening three minutes when he had outpaced Darren Kenton down the centre.

Saints replied with some concerted high-ball pressure, while a neat cross by skipper Jason Dodd with the outside of his foot only just eluded Phillips as the frontman flung himself forward in the box.

And in the eighth minute a similarly sharp delivery, this time by Johnson, almost provided a goal at the other end for Ben Watson who was eventually crowded out.

A short free-kick by Michael Hughes offered Danny Granville a shooting chance from 30 yards, but he struck it wide.

Palace’s Tony Popovic simply stood in the way of Fabrice Fernandes when the Frenchman tried to get an attack going down the left and the free-kick came to nothing.

Coaches Steve Wigley and Dowie were soon out trying to pull the strings from their technical areas, but the livewire Johnson needed no urging.

He slipped clear on the left and pulled an excellent cross back for Hughes, but Jakobsson was in quickly to cut it out.

A corner had Saints in trouble at the back with a Popovic header being blocked en route to goal in the 16th minute.

But it was largely a scrappy opening, until Saints put together a neat four-man move finished by a Phillips shot which deflected off Popovic and required a stretching save by Gabor Kiraly.

Saints on-loan goalkeeper Kasey Keller had to be quick off his line to get to the ball first and prevent Johnson breaking through the offside trap in the 26th minute.

Then after a flurry of home raids Johnson was on the end of a sharp Palace reply and it needed Graeme Le Saux’s timely tackle to keep the Saints on terms at the expense of a corner.

Both sides were playing well considering their lowly positions with Palace having slightly the better of the first half hour.

All this counted for nothing however when an aerial duel between Dexter Blackstock and Popovic saw the ball bounce loose to Phillips whose powerful drive from 20 yards flashed just over.

But after 35 minutes unmarked Phillips was left screaming in frustration in the centre when Fernandes broke away down the left, but having got in behind the Palace defence he shot wastefully over the bar from a tough angle.

Three goals in nine minutes just after the break brought the game to life.

Johnson had already seen two great chances stopped by Keller before he finally found the target to put Palace in front after 49 minutes.

Going for Aki Riihilahti’s cross, he escaped the attentions of Jakobsson and flicked his header past the flapping Keller.

Barely a minute later Phillips, looking suspiciously offside, levelled matters for Saints when he tapped in at the far post from a right-wing cross by Fernandes.

However, Palace were ahead again in the 54th minute when Routledge’s shot took a big deflection off Jakobsson to go in with Keller diving the wrong way.

Keller then saved a couple of long-range efforts by Watson and Hughes while Palace redoubled in defence to keep out some sustained pressure from Saints.

Substitutes Peter Crouch and Leandre Griffit were both sent on as Southampton tied to save the game.

The battling home side dug out an equaliser in the 74th minute when Le Saux’s free-kick was headed down by Crouch and Jakobsson, who had been involved in both Palace’s goals, calmly struck it home for his first goal for the club.

And Saints thought they had gone ahead for the first time two minutes later when Phillips netted, only to find Crouch ruled offside having supplied the final pass.

Crouch lobbed just over in injury time as Saints pressed for the winner but Keller had to defy Johnson again before time ran out.