Fulham 2 Crystal Palace 2

by Kaleem Aftab

at Craven Cottage

Dwight Gayle was again the hero as Crystal Palace ended the season in 11th spot. The draw saw Fulham end the season second bottom. 

When Fulham beat Crystal Palace 4-1 at Selhurst Park at the end of October, it was the Palace fans believing that they would be arriving at Craven Cottage in the Championship. 

That game was the signal for Ian Holloway to resign and the appointment of Tony Pulis. 

That Palace came to the Cottage guaranteed of a top-half finish have led many to call for him to be named manager of the year. 

Dwight Gayle, having effectively ended Liverpool’s dreams of winning the league, showed a goal poacher’s instinct when he put a tow out to turn home Joel Ward’s shot on 27 minutes. 

On 83 minutes he curled in a fabulous free-kick to potentially win the game. 

Fulham’s season could not have been any worse. 

Since their victory over Palace they have hired and fired two managers. 

The short reign of Rene Meulensteen was a disaster. Chris David came off the bench to become the 39th player Fulham have used this year, an unwanted Premier League record. 

While they showed some signs of improvement under Felix Magath, the one silver lining for Fulham is the emergence of a number of youth players. 

One of them, Cauley Woodrow’s scored his first goal for the club. 

This was followed in the final minute with debutante David scoring with a fabulous left-foot strike.