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Swansea logo
Premier League
Mar 2, 2014 at 4.30pm UK
 
Crystal Palace logo

1-1

de Guzman (25')
FT(HT: 1-0)
Murray (82' pen.)

Live Commentary: Swansea City 1-1 Crystal Palace - as it happened

Relive Sports Mole's minute-by-minute report of Swansea City's 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace in the Premier League.
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Crystal Palace came from behind on Sunday to earn a 1-1 draw at Swansea City in the Premier League.

Swansea took the lead with 24 minutes on the clock when Jonathan de Guzman showed plenty of composure to fire past Julian Speroni.

However, Palace levelled the match in the final 10 minutes as Glenn Murray scored from the penalty spot after Chico Flores was sent off for a foul on the striker.

Read Sports Mole's minute-by-minute report below to find out how all of the action unfolded in South Wales.


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Hello there and welcome to Sports Mole's live text coverage of this afternoon's Premier League encounter as Swansea City welcome Crystal Palace to the Liberty Stadium. We should have some team news through for you shortly...

SWANSEA: Vorm; Rangel, Chico, Williams, Davies; Britton, de Guzman, Dyer, Hernandez, Routledge; Bony

SWANSEA SUBS: Tremmel, Amat, Taylor, Canas, Emnes, Vazquez, Lita

Three change for Swansea following their defeat to Napoli in the Europa League on Thursday as Angel Rangel, Leon Britton and Nathan Dyer are all recalled by manager Garry Monk. Jose Canas and Marvin Emnes drop to the bench, while Dwight Tiendalli fails to make the squad.

PALACE: Speroni; Ward, Dann, Delaney, Parr; Dikgacoi, Jedinak, Ledley, Bolasie, Ince; Chamakh

PALACE SUBS: Hennessey, Gabbidon, Bannan, Thomas, Gayle, Jerome, Murray

Just the two changes for Palace boss Tony Pulis after his side's 2-0 loss at home to Manchester United last weekend. Yannick Bolasie and Kagisho Dikgacoi are both given the nod, while Glenn Murray has to settle for a place among the substitutes. Jason Puncheon misses out altogether.

There's plenty at stake in today's match as both teams are looking to climb away from the wrong end of the table. Swansea are currently four points above the drop zone, while Palace are just two points clear of safety.

REFEREE WATCH: The official for this afternoon is Mike Dean, who has dished out three red card and 63 yellow cards so far this season.

UPDATE: The full-time whistle has gone at Wembley Stadium where Manchester City have beaten Sunderland 3-1 to win the League Cup. Fabio Borini gave Sunderland an early lead, but City fought back with goals from Yaya Toure, Samir Nasri and Jesus Navas.

You can read Sports Mole's report of that win for Manchester City right here.

Anyway, back to business. Palace will be out for revenge this afternoon after losing 2-0 at home to Swansea back in September. Michu and Nathan Dyer got the goals for the Welsh side on that day. Interestingly, both sides had different managers on that day in Ian Holloway and Michael Laudrup.



HEAD TO HEAD: When it comes to previous meetings between these teams it's Swansea who have the better record with nine wins to Palace's four. Meanwhile, there have been four draws.

Swansea's recent record against Palace is very impressive, with the Welsh club winning the last four matches. Palace's last victory came in March 2009 when they earned a 3-1 triumph in the Championship.

RECENT FORM:

SWANSEA: WDLDLL
PALACE: WLWLWL


Just under 15 minutes until this one gets underway and the Liberty Stadium is filling up nicely. The Swansea fans haven't had too much to shout about recently, but a win today would boost their chances to achieving a top-half finish. A defeat would drag them right back into the battle to avoid relegation.

PREDICTION TIME: We here at Sports Mole can see this being a tight encounter this afternoon, but we believe that Swansea will come out on top 2-1. We will find out if we're right in a little over 10 minutes.



The players are starting to emerge in the tunnel at the Liberty Stadium. Not long to go now until this one gets underway...

KICKOFF! The teams are out, the pre-match handshakes have been done, and it will be Swansea to kick us off. Here we go!

It's been a bright start from Swansea as they look to get at Palace early. It's been raining all day in South Wales, so the pitch is pretty slick. Palace have hardly had a touch of the ball so far. They're struggling to get out of their own half.

Palace see a bit of the ball for the first time as Bolasie makes a promising run down the left wing, but his cross is a poor one that flies out of play. Despite that opportunity, it's Swansea who are still on top at the moment, dictating the pace of the game with their zippy passing.

For all of Swansea's dominance during the early stages, they still haven't given Palace too much to think about. Palace aren't being allowed to much time in possession, but they're looking solid from a defensive point of view. Would you expect anything else from a Tony Pulis team?

To be fair to Palace, they've been quite dynamic up front when they've been given the chance to surge forward. Ince and Bolasie in particular have been lively so far for the visitors. Still, we're awaiting our first proper opportunity of the match here at the Liberty Stadium.

Swansea win a free kick in a decent position that De Guzman tries to whip into the heart of the Palace box, but his delivery goes straight over everyone and out of play for a goal kick. That was a waste from the Dutchman.

We've only had 19 minutes of action, but this game is in need of a goal. It's not a complete snore-fest by any stretch of the imagination, though the two teams needs to sharpen up in attack. And quickly.

CHANCE! There we go! Swansea carve open the first opening of the match as Hernandez flashes a shot wide from the edge of the box following good work from Routledge. However, it's the Spaniard's last bit of involvement as he is forced off soon after with what looks like a minor knock of some sort. Jose Canas is on in his place.

GOAL! SWANSEA 1-0 PALACE (DE GUZMAN)

That is a lovely goal from Jonathan de Guzman to give Swansea a deserved lead! Bony and Britton exchange passes on the edge of the box before the latter plays in De Guzman. The midfielder then keeps his composure with a couple of Palace shirts around him and slots the ball into the bottom corner.

The hosts have all of the momentum with them now. They've been on top from the first whistle, but that goal seems to have given them that extra bit of confidence going forward. Do Palace have a response in them?

Bad news for Palace here as Chamakh goes off the pitch to receive treatment on a leg injury. It looks like Cameron Jerome might be coming on in his place. Meanwhile, the match continues...

SUBSTITUTION: Chamakh is indeed forced off as Jerome takes his place on the pitch.

YELLOW CARD: The first booking of the match goes the way of Palace captain Mile Jedinak for a high foot on Britton. That was not a good challenge at all from the midfielder.

SAVE! That's a fine stop from Palace goalkeeper Speroni to keep it 1-0. A Swansea cross from the right found its way to Bony in the middle of the box, but his first-time effort was pushed away by the shotstopper.

A little over five minutes left to play in this first half and Swansea are still dominating. Palace need to be careful they don't concede again before the break because that would give them an awful lot to do if they want to get anything from this game.

The hosts are starting to frustrate Palace now with some slick passing across the pitch. The visitors can't get near the ball at the moment as the half-time whistle approaches.

This doesn't look good for Dyer, who is down on the turf after jarring his ankle. We'll have three minutes of added time...

Dyer returns to the field following some treatment. Meanwhile, Swansea are just running down the clock as we near half time.

HALF TIME: SWANSEA 1-0 PALACE

Mike Dean blows the half-time whistle and it's Swansea who go down the tunnel with a 1-0 lead thanks to Jonathan de Guzman's 24th-minute goal. The home side have dominated and fully deserve to be ahead.

While Swansea have been in control, Palace have been woeful. They've rarely threatened in the final third and will need to improve drastically in the second half if they want to avoid defeat.

UPDATE: There are currently two other matches being played in the Premier League, with Aston Villa leading Norwich City 4-1 and Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 up against Cardiff City.

As it stands, Swansea will be moving up to 10th place in the table. Palace will be staying two points above the drop zone.

Here's an image of Jonathan de Guzman giving Swansea the lead earlier this afternoon:

Swansea player Jonathan de Guzman opens the scoring during the Barclays Premier League match between Swansea City and Crystal Palace at Liberty Stadium on March 2, 2014© Getty Images


SECOND HALF UNDERWAY! The players are back out and it will be Palace to kick us off for the second half. The visitors have made a change as well, with Glenn Murray replacing Tom Ince. Game on!

YELLOW CARD: Cameron Jerome goes into the book for Palace after chopping down Chico Flores. No need for all of that rolling around from the Spaniard, mind...

Swansea have started this second half in the same way as they played the first. They're seeing plenty of the ball and making Palace work for possession. It's almost as if the hosts are biding their time before landing the killer blow.

Palace have probably enjoyed their best spell of the match during the last few minutes. They've started to move the ball around a bit better and show a bit more ambition up top. Could this be the start of a revival from the visitors? They certainly need some inspiration.

The away side are still looking to attack a bit more, but their passing and crossing in the final third remains poor. Parr demonstrates this by launching a cross high over the crossbar and into the stand. Tony Pulis won't be too disheartened though - his players are putting up much more of a fight.

The introduction of Murray at the break has given Palace a bit more incentive to play directly. He's far more of a poacher than Chamakh, and the visitors are trying to play to his strengths. They're certainly not out of this match at the moment, despite their poor display during the opening 45 minutes.

YELLOW CARD: Palace defender Scott Dann goes into the book now for dragging down De Guzman with Swansea looking to break. That was cynical from the centre-back.

SUBSTITUTION: A change for Swansea here as Leroy Lita replaces Wilfried Bony. It looks like Bony might be nursing a knock.

It's becoming a bit of a battle out there now and that could well suit Palace as we head towards the final 20 minutes at the Liberty Stadium. Swansea aren't being allowed too much time on the ball as the visitors scrap for possession. They're starting to look a bit more like a Tony Pulis side.

SUBSTITUTIONS: Changes for each side here as Jordi Amat replaces Ashley Williams for Swansea. Meanwhile, Jerome Thomas enters the action in place of Jonathan Parr for Palace.

Palace are starting to crank up the pressure now as they go in search of an equaliser. They're starting to commit a few men forward, which could play into the hands of Swansea on the counter-attack. Just under 20 minutes left to play and Jonathan De Guzman's goal still separates the teams.

YELLOW CARD: Leon Britton, who now has the Swansea armband after Ashley Williams's exit from the field, goes into the book for barging down Cameron Jerome.

CHANCE! Palace create a decent opening as Thomas's teasing cross is met by the head of Jerome, but it's a simple save for Vorm in the end. An inch or two either side of the goalkeeper...

PENALTY TO PALACE!

RED CARD! CHICO FLORES (SWANSEA)

GOAL! SWANSEA 1-1 PALACE (MURRAY, PENALTY)

Palace get a deserved equaliser thanks to a great penalty from Glenn Murray after the striker had initially been fouled by Chico Flores. A long ball over the top saw Murray nick the ball past the onrushing Vorm before he was brought down by Chico, who saw red as the last man. Murray then stepped up to take the resulting penalty and lashed the ball home.

The visitors don't seem content with a point, they want all three! Palace fancy themselves to get a winning goal here as they pile on the pressure inside the Swansea box. They were awful in the first half, but they've been so much better during the second 45 minutes.



Four minutes added time indicated by the fourth official. Will we get a winning goal?

YELLOW CARD: Palace want a penalty as Thomas goes down in the box, but referee Mike Dean rightly shows him a yellow card for simulation.

FULL TIME: SWANSEA 1-1 PALACE

The full-time whistle goes and it's ended 1-1 between Swansea City and Crystal Palace at the Liberty Stadium. Jonathan de Guzman gave the hosts a first-half lead, but Glenn Murray's late penalty salvaged a point for the visitors. A fair result in the end.

Anyway, that's the end of our live text coverage but don't forget that you can keep up to date with all of the reaction from today's games right here on Sports Mole. Thanks for your company and we hope to see you again soon. Goodbye!

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Swansea's new head coach Garry Monk greets fans ahead of the match against Cardiff during their Premier League match on February 8, 2014
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