Poor Palace snatch a result Ardley deserved

Wimbledon 1 Crystal Palace 1

These are strange times for the once-rugged Wimbledon. At the end of a game in which Crystal Palace showed all the stoutness for a second-half recovery at Selhurst Park yesterday, it could still be said that in terms of overall quality it was Wimbledon who were the better side. But Clinton Morrison's equaliser restored Palace's play-off hopes in spite of the poverty of their first 45 minutes.

Wimbledon will never be predictable. A fortnight ago they were completing the season's first double over indisputably the most impressive side in the First Division, Manchester City, then they played with no impression at all against Gillingham, who should have been there for the taking since they had their minds locked into yesterday's FA Cup tie against Arsenal. They can play a passing game that defies their clinging reputation for the long-ball, then spend a whole match doing little but finding the opposition with their misplaced passes.

Yesterday they set out with the clear intention of defusing the usual tenaciousness of this shared-ground rivalry by playing the ball around to feet – mostly their own.

Even the shock of allowing Ade Akinbiyi to side-foot into their net early on (the assistant referee had already spotted an offside) failed to disturb Wimbledon's good intent, which, after only seven minutes, led to Neal Ardley's corner being headed, cushion soft, across the line by Damien Francis. Trevor Francis admitted later: "The chairman had reminded me that when we go behind we don't come back. So his comments were ringing in my ears.''

Akinbiyi's ability to turn an invitation into a refusal is well known. Here, though, he seemed to excel towards the end of the first half when Dougie Freedman strangely chose to chip a centre rather than shoot. In spite of his height, Akinbiyi contrived to mis-time his jump and, at the same time, miss an open goal.

Having lost Michael Hughes to a first-half ankle injury, Wimbledon's midfield forfeited some of its bite. And in the second half Palace did compete more aggressively in that area, though Wimbledon's composure remained superior. Indeed, they did enough to have warranted extending their lead. A searching 30-yard shot from Ardley appeared to be homing in on the top corner when Matt Clarke hurled himself across for a wonderful save.

With more than a hint of desperation, Francis took off Akinbiyi and Simon Rodger. Tommy Black and Julian Gray added some urgency, which had the effect of reducing Wimbledon's domination. Yet when the Dons did have another fine opportunity to seal the outcome, David Connolly side-footed wide.

Black's work on the right greatly increased Palace's versatility and it was his pass that allowed Clinton Morrison to run on and hit a superb shot beyond Kelvin Davis. Even so it took another instinctively gymnastic save from Clarke, turning away Connolly's header, to keep Palace's snatched point in the bag.