A late equaliser is always a bitter pill to swallow and Diogo Jota’s 95th minute header for Wolves on Sunday was no exception.
But this goal in particular was harder to ignore, not only denied us three points and a place in the top 6, but because it highlights a long standing problem that has cost us before at Selhrust Park – taking chances.
This is not the first time we should have come away from a match with all three points after absolute domination at Selhurst. Last season, we played at home to Cardiff on Boxing Day. During this fixture we had 31 shots, our most ever in a Premier League game and the joint highest a Cardiff team have ever faced. We also had 63% possession, outrageous for what is considered a counter attacking team under Roy Hodgson. We still somehow only managed a 0-0 draw. In fact, we came close to losing the game 1-0 only for a late save by Vincente Guaita to deny Junior Hoilett’s curling effort in the final 10 minutes to keep the scores level.
Then there was the Aston Villa match this season. Jordan Ayew’s goal proved to be the difference after half time, but we were by far the better team for the majority of the game. There were so many chances to see off Villa, we had 22 shots, Cheikhou Kouyaté could have had a hat-trick and Luka Milivojević could have scored two.
If Henri Lansbury’s disallowed goal stood, it would have been football’s way of punishing Palace and we would have completely got what we deserved for not taking our chances.
Luckily, it was only a two points we dropped against Wolves on Sunday, but a time will come when we drop all three points if we aren’t more ruthless in front of goal.
At a level where the margins are so fine and where you have to take your chances. We will continue to be drawn into relegation battles, or have to deal with mid to lower table mediocrity if we either: can’t buy a striker who will score 15-20 goals a season (especially someone who can regularly find the net at home) or if the team cannot start scoring more regularly.