REUTERS - Crystal Palace midfielder Luka Milivojevic’s second-half penalty was cancelled out by Jordan Ayew’s terrific strike as managerless Swansea earned a 1-1 draw in an evenly-contested Premier League contest at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday.
Milivojevic beat goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski with a precise spot kick down the middle after Federico Fernandez had brought down Palace midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek in the box 13 minutes into the second half.
Palace’s lead did not last long as Swansea forward Ayew, who came on in place of winger Luciano Narsingh, smashed the ball into the bottom left corner from outside the box in the 77th minute.
It gave hope to the Premier League’s bottom club, who were led by temporary manager Leon Britton after Paul Clement’s sacking.
Ghana international Ayew added a touch of urgency to Swansea’s attack and went close with another shot from distance two minutes later but the visitors held on to secure a point.
”I enjoyed the experience today as much as I could,“ Britton said after the game. ”There’s been a lot going in the last couple of days and it’s all very new to me being out there in the technical area.
“I enjoyed it more because we got some sort of result, but doing the job full-time is not something I would want to do at the moment. I would not rule out doing it at some point in the future, but I don’t think this is the right moment.”
Britton, though, will continue to prepare the team for a trip to Liverpool on Tuesday.
Palace are unbeaten in the last eight games under manager Roy Hodgson and next face Arsenal and Manchester City at home.
“It’s a point that helps in our fight to move away from the relegation zone. Given the circumstances, given the way the game panned out, we need not be too unhappy,” Hodgson said.
Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru, Editing by Ian Chadband
