Crystal Palace played host to Hull City in the Premier League this evening looking for the win that would move them level on points with their opponents.
Jason Puncheon scored the only goal of the game for the Eagles, propelling them to 14th place in the table, but they were made to work for the three points.
The evening ended on a sour note for Hull for more reasons than one, with their goalkeeper Allan McGregor being sent off late on following an off-the-ball incident.
Here, Sports Mole takes a closer look at the 90 minutes to establish whether 1-0 was a fair result.
Match statistics
Palace
Shots: 13
On target: 3
Possession: 38%
Corners: 8
Fouls: 14
Hull
Shots: 13
On target: 4
Possession: 62%
Corners: 3
Fouls: 8
Was the result fair?
Taking the entire 90 minutes into account, a 1-1 draw would perhaps have been a fairer reflection of the game. Palace had the edge in the first half and always looked like penetrating the Hull defence, but it was a different story after the break. The Tigers came out swinging in the second period and kept Palace on the back foot throughout, lacking only that clinical touch in front of goal.
Palace's performance
Tony Pulis had his team well organised from start to finish. They looked dangerous going forward in the first half, with the likes of Cameron Jerome and Puncheon putting in a hard night's work, and defended doggedly in the second period. In truth, they rode their luck a great deal in the second half, but by no means deserved to lose the game.
Hull's performance
The Tigers started slowly and their new strikeforce of Nikica Jelavic and Shane Long looked woefully ineffective for much of the duration, but that isn't to say they won't improve given time to gel. Hull came together as a unit in the second half and went on to dominate the match. Steve Bruce can at least take some heart from the spirit they displayed, despite the result not going their way.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Jake Livermore: Hull's Jake Livermore earns tonight's man of the match award despite ending up on the losing side. The midfielder looked just as effective taking on the Palace defence as he did keeping their attack at bay when he tracked back to defend himself. It was a good all-round performance from him.
Biggest gaffe
This is an easy award to hand out given that McGregor's hot-headedness earned him a red card late on following an off-the-ball incident involving Stuart O'Keefe. As Bruce had used all of his substitutes by this point, poor old Tom Huddlestone had to see out the match in goal.
Referee performance
It was no easy match to oversee for Roger East, given that the pitch was sodden and tempers were running high. There is a case to argue that the official made the wrong call when Long was denied a penalty after being brought down in the box by Daniel Gabbidon, but replays suggested that it was an incredibly tough call for him to make. His decision to give McGregor his marching orders and book O'Keefe for his part in the incident was, however, spot on.
What next?
Palace: Palace will be glad they registered that win this evening as their next league fixture is a trip to high-flying Arsenal.
Hull: Hull also face North London opposition in their next fixture, playing host to Tottenham Hotspur.
Mark Langshaw
