Crystal Palace take on Portsmouth tonight at Selhurst Park in a bid to end a four game losing sequence in the Championship.
Read the team news and text commentary from this evenings's game with Neil McSteen below.
Team news - Palace
Speroni, Clyne, McCarthy, Danns, Vaughan, Garvan, Dorman, Cadogan,Djilali, Marrow, Gardner.
Subs are;
Davis, Barrett, Andrew, Price, Bennett, Holness, Counago
Palace kick-off in driving rain at Selhurst Park. It really is hammering it down.
As in the Reading game, James Vaughan is upfront alone
6th minute - Cadogan gets down the right, cuts into the box, sends a low cross over. Vaughan tried to bundle it home, but Jamie Ashdown in the Pompey goal clings on tight.
The rain has now eased off a touch
11th min - Gardner finds Danns who then plays in Dorman, who crosses to Cadogan only for Pompey to put behind. Palace corner, floated over, headed behind.
14th min - GOAL! Palace 1 - 0 Pompey. Andrew Dorman bursts forward into the box, squares to Vaughan, but the ball is slightly behind him. Cadogan is unmarked to the right, but Vaughan swivels and fires home into the top right hand corner of the goal. 1-0 to Palace.
18th min - Vaughan is played in again, but the ball skids off the greasy Selhurst Park pitch and into the arms of Ashdown.
20th min - Djilali wins a corner, nothing comes of it. Palace pick the ball up again from an attacking throw, Djilali collects and smashes the ball towards goal, Ashdown punches away at the near post.
24th min - GOAL! Palace 1 - 1 Pompey
Pompey equalise through Dave Kitson who walks the ball into an unguarded net after Gardner heads over the advancing Speroni.
Gardner was looking to head the dropping ball back to Speroni, who was on his line, but the Palace stopper went walkabout. Whether Speroni gave a shout or Gardner simply didn't hear it, it was an awful mix-up that has allowed the Hampshire side back in the game.
30th min - Garvan goes close again with a long range effort after collecting the ball from Djilali, Ashdown tipping his shot over for a Palace corner. Garvan takes the corner, but Pompey clear.
38th min McCarthy gets forward, finds Cadogan who crosses from the right. Danns attempts a bicycle kick but it goes well over. Pompey then get down the other end, Liam Lawrence hitting a volley with the outside of his right boot that goes just over
39th min - Djilali cuts inside Joel Ward and curls a shot that hits the upright with Ashdown rooted to the spot. Danns follows up with a low shot that the Pompey 'keeper gathers.
44th min - Former England man David Nugent is clattered, and the game is halted as he gets treatment. Owen Garvan gets a booking
HALF TIME - CRYSTAL PALACE 1 - 1 PORTSMOUTH
The teams head in level at the break but it is Palace who have been on top, with Jamie Ashdown the busier of the two 'keepers.
Palace are playing a lot better than they did on Saturday away at Reading, and if it wasn't for the gift of the equaliser Pompey would not be in this. Hopefully Palace can push on in the second half and secure their second win of the campaign.
SECOND HALF
Pompey kick-off the second half. No changes for either side.
47th min - Kitson plays in Nugent who passes the ball past Speroni into the net - but he is offside by about half a yard.
52nd min - Palace old boy Hayden Mullins is played in, Palace defence is backtracking, but the Pompey midfielder can only shoot tamely at Speroni. Pompey have started the second half quite brightly.
55th min GOAL! Palace 2 - 1 Pompey
Danns wins the ball in midfield, lays it off to Marrow, who fires it long over the Pompey defence. Vaughan latches onto it just before the onrushing Jamie Ashdown to grab his second goal of the night and put Palace back in front. Pompey players are furious with the assistant referee, but Vaughan's run didn't look offside from here.
59th min - GOAL! Palace 3 - 1 Pompey McCarthy collects the ball from a throw in, pumps it forward to the edge of the area where Neil Danns' flicks it over the Pompey defence for James Vaughan to connect with a karate style leap and kick to grab a hat-trick on his home debut.
Palace fans are in good voice now, they can sense three points.
23 minutes to go and Palace are living dangerously. Firstly, Gardner deflects a goal bound shot off his toe behind for a corner. Pompey take the corner and Kanu is inches away from handing his team a lifeline. Come on Palace, see the game out.
68th min - Vaughan is looking for his fourth - but he shoots straight at Ashdown. Palace attack again, this time down the left through Djilali who crosses - Danns doesn't connect cleanly but the ball finds its way to Vaughan who blazes over. Palace are rampant.
74th min - Portsmouth Sub - Kanu OFF, Jon Utaka ON
The crowd tonight is just 14,219, with only 1,489 from Pompey. Quite a low turnout from both sets of fans, but understandable considering both team's set of recent results, the weather and the Champions League on TV.
79th min - GOAL! PALACE 4 - 1 POMPEY
- Danns is bundled over by Michael Brown in the corner of the box - penalty. He picks the ball up and runs to the spot - he's taking it himself. He blasts it down the middle and makes it 4-1 to the Palace.
81st min - Palace sub - Vaughan OFF, Andrew ON. Great reception for the hat-trick hero.
7 minutes to go, Pompey fans are still singing but it's the home fans who are happiest.
87th min - Pompey are still attacking, Palace clearing off the line through Djilali from Utaka's header.
88th min - Palace Sub - Neil Danns OFF, Pablo Counago ON. Danns has had a superb game, so much better than his performance against Reading. Playing in a more central position has helped him tonight.
90th min - Calvin Andrew wants a goal - he has a shot, but it's blocked and turned behind for a corner which comes to nothing.
Injury time - Andrew is booked for taking out Joel Ward with a poor tackle.
FULL TIME - CRYSTAL PALACE 4 - 1 PORTSMOUTH
A deserved and timely win for Crystal Palace who end a horrible run of defeats in the league. George Burley's men let Portsmouth back into the game in the first half with a gift of a goal for Dave Kitson, but after weathering the early pressure from Portsmouth at the start of the second half they went on to take advantage of a less than mobile Pompey back-four as James Vaughan pounced to grab his hat-trick.
Pompey kept plugging away, but Neil Danns ensured there was absolutely no way back by adding a fourth through his spot-kick.
Next up is another home game, Burnley on Saturday. Join us for another 3 points at 3pm.
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