Crystal Palace vs Everton match report: Both sides with an eye on the FA Cup in goalless draw

Crystal Palace 0 Everton 0: James McCarthy was shown a red card

James McCarthy is shown a red card (Getty)

Crystal Palace and Everton both have FA Cup semi-finals to play at Wembley next weekend, and on Wednesday night at Selhurst Park it showed. Having secured safety from relegation, despite desperately underperforming in the league, these two sides now just want to make sure they get to Wembley in as healthy a state as possible.

To that end they played out a drab 0-0 draw in which there was a touch of attacking enterprise, but very little quality. When James McCarthy was sent off early in the second half it became a siege on Joel Robles’ goal, but Palace have struggled all year for goals and that did not change here.

This was a meeting between two of the more downwardly-mobile teams in the Premier League. Back on Boxing Day, not too long ago, Palace were fifth, Everton were ninth, and both were wondering if it might not be their time to shine as well. Since then the two teams together have played 27 Premier League games and won just four. Three of those wins were against Norwich, Newcastle and Aston Villa.

Of course, were it not for their successful cup runs, these two teams might have done better in the league. Winning a trophy has become the priority over simple accumulation of league points and rightly so. Getting to Wembley takes up a lot of energy, emotion and luck.

What this meant is that these were two teams whose heads were elsewhere, who have their biggest game of the season around the corner and want to arrive at their best. With both sides safe from relegation – as guaranteed by Palace’s defeat of Norwich City last Saturday – the points were not especially precious.

Confidence was far more important, then, and there was, at least for the first half, a relaxed and open feel to a game which was more about rejuvenating the spirits and form of the players. Palace tried to build on that Norwich win and came flying out at Everton. Dwight Gayle’s movement was dangerous and when he got on the end of Wilfried Zaha’s early cross he should have hit the target.

Everton started to settle – they have won more games away than at home this season – and passed the ball with more style than Palace could manage. One lovely move ended with Leighton Baines crossing to Seamus Coleman, only for the right-back’s volley to go straight at Wayne Hennessey. Arouna Kone fired one just over the bar and when Ross Barkley threaded a perfect pass through to Romelu Lukaku, Hennessey impressed in how quickly he darted off his line to block the shot.

Ross Barkley (Getty)

When the second half begun Everton had the upper hand, as Barkley struck the bar from 20 yards and Coleman had a penalty appeal turned down. That made it all the more surprising when, just seven minutes after the restart, James McCarthy appeared to forget that he had been booked in the first half for a hack on Yohan Cabaye. Because when Yannick Bolasie tried to break down the left, McCarthy blocked his run, was booked a second time and sent off.

That forced Roberto Martinez to put Muhamed Besic on for Kone, and the momentum was all with Palace. Mile Jedinak strolled through a non-existent midfield and passed to Jason Puncheon, who should have beaten Joel Robles but could not. Robles saved from Cabaye from distance and from Puncheon, who skipped past two tackles before shooting hard and low.

Palace had Emmanuel Adebayor and Connor Wickham on up front, but for all their aerial strength they could not break through. When Adebayor knocked one ball down, Wickham scuffed his shot. Then Wickham headed over the bar, then Adebayor did the same. Palace’s misfiring strikers is the story of their season, and Everton’s usually permeable defence emerged unscathed.