Crystal Palace vs Huddersfield result: Terriers relegated as Luka Milivojevic and Patrick van Aanholt inflict defeat
Crystal Palace 2-0 Huddersfield Town: Eight defeats from nine matches since replacing David Wagner has seen Jan Siewert’s side relegated with six matches remaining this season
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Your support makes all the difference.What goes up must come down and Huddersfield Town duly went down on Saturday after two seasons in the Premier League. Taking the drop before the end of March means that they equal the earliest Premier League relegation, suffered previously by Derby County in 2008.
For Town to return to the Championship, they had to lose and Burnley and Southampton had to win. Both were ahead by the time Palace took the lead here and both retained their leads.
If Huddersfield were to have saved themselves, there was no likelier location than Selhurst Park. Palace had won only three Premier League games there all season, but they managed number four without too much trouble.
Luka Milivojevic converted a penalty after 76 minutes, his ninth successful spot kick of the season in 10 attempts, and Patrick van Aanholt added a late second as Huddersfield cracked under mounting pressure.
The Yorkshire club can hardly say their relegation was undeserved. Jan Siewert, the Huddersfield manager, has now lost eight of his nine matches in charge and has not taken a first point on the road since he took over from David Wagner on 21 January.
The fixture was a reminder of Huddersfield’s triumphant entrance on the Premier League stage, a 3-0 victory here on the opening day of the 2017/18 season. To some extent, it has been downhill ever since for the Terriers. They have won only three times this season, twice against Wolves.
For most of the first half there was little to choose between the teams. Michy Batshuayi had a shot blocked after 16 minutes and seconds later Jeffrey Schlupp was in on goal down the left but skewed his effort. Next Wilfried Zaha sent a header past the post and a Palace goal seemed only a matter of time.
But it took a superb save from Palace goalkeeper Vicente Guaita to keep his team level in the 25th minute. Aaron Mooy picked out Chris Lowe at the far post and the midfield player’s header looked in all the way until Guaita flung himself to his left to block. And three minutes later Lowe sent Guaita full length once more with a snap shot from 15 yards.
Town goalkeeper Ben Hamer was also in action, dropping on a deflected shot from Andros Townsend, but Palace had a narrow escape six minutes before the break when Karlan Grant caught Scott Dann in possession and raced away down the right. Dann clearly thought about a professional foul but decided against it and it proved to be the right option as the former Charlton forward, at a difficult angle, chipped the ball well wide of goal.
The Palace fans wanted more intensity from their team. They got it when Zaha burst through two challenges and worked the ball to Van Aanholt, but Hamer clutched the left back’s right-foot shot, as he did a 20-yard volley from James Tomkins following a corner.
The best opening was created by Zaha after 67 minutes when he went past two more defenders and his clever pass with the outside of his right foot left Townsend in the clear with only Hamer to beat. But he dragged his shot wide. Or was the next chance even better? Zaha went round Hamer only to find a determined knot of defenders had scampered back to block his shot.
With results elsewhere now going against Huddersfield, a Palace goal look likely to send them down. And it came, by a familiar route, Milivojevic converting a penalty after Zaha had been tripped by Juninho Bacuna in the 75th minute.
Zaha should have made sure of the win when he raced clear with minutes left but his shot, like so many others, went wide and it was left to Van Aanholt to roll in an overdue second from Zaha’s disguised pass and the Terriers were down.
Teams
Crystal Palace (4-3-3): Guaita; Wan-Bissaka, Tomkins, Dann, van Aanholt; Meyer (McCarthur 45), Milivojevic, Schlupp; Townsend (Kouyate 80), Batshuayi (Benteke 73), Zaha.
Substitutes not used: Hennessey, Ward, Ayew, Kelly.
Huddersfield Town (4-2-3-1): Hamer; Smith, Kongolo, Schindler, Durm; Hogg, Bacuna (Kachunga 80); Mooy, Pritchard (Stankovic 90), Lowe (Williams 80); Grant.
Substitutes not used: Coleman, Hadergjonaj, Daly, Rowe.
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