Crystal Palace 1 - Newcastle 1: Milivojevic and Diame on target as points are shared

ROY HODGSON and Rafa Benitez both spoke of a point gained but there was no doubt it was the Crystal Palace manager who had the greater cause for regret.

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Mohamed Diame opened the scoring for NewcastleGETTY

Mohamed Diame opened the scoring for Newcastle
Hodgson could have few complaints at seeing his side trail at half-time to Mo Diame’s well-taken opening goal. But after seeing his side create a succession of clear chances after the break, the manager was entitled to believe this was an opportunity missed – especially in light of Palace’s looming fixtures.Luka Milivojevic’s 55th-minute penalty ensured Palace gained some reward for their impressive second-half efforts, taking them up to 14th spot, still two points above Benitez’s Newcastle.But the nature of this season’s relegation battle means things can turn around quickly. And with back-to-back home clashes against Tottenham and Manchester United and a trip to face Chelsea set to follow next Saturday’s visit to Everton, Hodgson could feel frustrated at his side’s failure to turn one point into three.“When you’re one of those bottom sides you don’t drop points because you don’t have the points to drop,” said Hodgson. “The top teams drop points. We gain points. Sometimes we gain two less than we would like, or maybe deserved.”Had Palace – who lost defender Martin Kelly to a hamstring injury in the first half, 24 hours after keeper Julian Speroni picked up a knee in training – hit their stride in the second half, it could have been worse.“In the end, it’ll be that ability that the team has, maybe as a result of nervousness or concerned as to the importance of the result and seeing them go a goal down from a corner, that ability to come out and be a totally different team,” said Hodgson.

Luka MilivojevicGETTY

Luka Milivojevic converts from the penalty spot

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“I know we had 21 strikes at goal but a few of those were from distance. We had a lot of entries into the penalty area and final third. With the type of players we have, we will score goals if we do that.”Newcastle had gone ahead midway through the first half when Diame was left unmarked at the far post and allowed to turn home Kenedy’s corner.And had Palace keeper Wayne Hennessey not pulled off a superb double save to deny first Kenedy and then Ayoze Perez in the 31st minute, Hodgson’s side would have been in deep trouble.“In the first half we were in control, doing well,” said Benitez. “We had another chance to score the second goal. But if you don’t score a second and then concede, you’re under pressure against a good team.“I was happy with the way we defended against very good strikers but it could be better, could be worse. One point. It’s fair, more or less.”Wilf Zaha’s second-half display, together with referee Andre Marriner’s decision to award a penalty after his assistant spotted Ciaran Clark pulling Christian Benteke’s shirt, turned the game around.

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Benitez may have thought his side were hard done-by but they escaped punishment late in the game when Jonjo Shelvey made a more obvious tug at James McArthur’s shirt as the Palace midfielder attempted to meet a corner.

Clark made up for error with a superb double block to clear Benteke’s header off the line, before blocking the striker’s close-range follow-up.

“Because we have an extra point, we cannot say it was negative,” said Benitez. “We have to stay calm and do what we have to do: fight, work as hard as we did today and we’ll have chances to win more games.

“We are learning but it’s a process. We are playing against good players. We are trying to learn things.”

Crystal Palace (4-4-2): Hennessey 8; Fosu-Mensah 7, Tomkins 7, Kelly 6 (Sakho 45), Van Aanholt 8; Townsend 7, Milivojevic 7, Cabaye 7, McArthur 8; Zaha 9, Benteke 6. Booked: Fosu-Mensah. Goals: Milivojevic 54. NEXT UP: Everton (a) Sat, PL.

Newcastle (4-2-3-1): Darlow 7; Yedlin 6, Clark 7, Lascelles 7, Dummett 6; Shelvey 6, Diame 6 (Hayden 65, 6); Ritchie 6, Pérez 7 (Merino 80), Kenedy 7 (Atsu 57); Gayle 6. Booked: Dummett. Goals: Diame 22. NEXT UP: Man Utd (h) Sun, PL.

Referee A Marriner (Birmingham).

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