Jean-Philippe Mateta’s penalty in the fourth minute of stoppage time snatched a 2-1 victory for Crystal Palace against Newcastle United, who saw their European qualification hopes suffered a fresh blow.
Mateta had earlier stepped off the bench to cancel out William Osula’s opener at Selhurst Park before the Frenchman’s late spot-kick earned the Eagles just their second home win in the Premier League since November.
A much-changed Newcastle were unable to put their Tyne-Wear derby disappointment from three weeks ago behind them as they remained five points behind seventh-placed Brentford.
With plenty of changes made to both line-ups, the game took a while to get into any kind of stride.
It perhaps was not surprising to see Palace look as though they were prioritising the second leg of their Conference League quarter-final at Fiorentina next Thursday.
However, Newcastle boss Eddie Howe’s decision to leave over £200m worth of attacking talent on the bench was attracting more scrutiny by the minute as his side struggled for any cohesion up front.
The first moment either goal was threatened finally arrived after 34 minutes when Yeremy Pino’s effort from just outside the box was pushed away by Newcastle goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, who quickly recovered to keep out Daniel Munoz’s follow-up.
Chances were suddenly coming thick and fast for the home side as Jaydee Canvot headed a Pino corner over from close range as the match flickered into life after a sleepy start.
However, it was against the run of play that Newcastle took the lead in the 43rd minute when Lewis Miley’s excellent ball from the right was diverted by home defender Maxence Lacroix for Osula to bundle in.
A sloppy pass from Munoz then gave the young Dane a chance to score his and the Magpies’ second five minutes into the second half, but Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson stood strong in making a good save.
Pino then bent a shot over the crossbar for the hosts, who had struggled to get going after the restart, prompting boss Oliver Glasner to bring Ismaila Sarr, Mateta and Adam Wharton off the bench.
The Eagles were within a whisker of equalising after 69 minutes when Pino’s dangerous free-kick was headed against the bar by Jefferson Lerma from around four yards out.
The equaliser for Palace finally arrived in the 80th minute when Munoz’s ball into the box was helped back towards the centre by Tyrick Mitchell for Mateta to nod in his first league goal since New Year’s Day.
Just when it looked as though the points would be shared, the Eagles were handed the chance to snatch victory in stoppage time when Sven Botman needlessly pulled back Lerma to concede a penalty, which Mateta dispatched into the bottom corner.
PA
