Crystal Palace 0-1 Southampton: Roy Hodgson suffers defeat in his first game in charge as Steven Davis' early goal secures Saints all three points

• e-mail

Two hours before kick-off, Roy Hodgson got out of his car in the car park between Selhurst Park and Sainsbury’s. It was as good a place as any to embark upon the road that leads away from Iceland and Hodgson shook hands with the group of well-wishers who had gathered to greet him before yesterday's game against Southampton and smiled for the selfies that they requested.

‘He knows the club,’ one supporter said to no one in particular as he watched him walk towards the stadium, reassuring himself that Hodgson’s return to the place he first visited 64 years ago with his father, a Croydon bus driver, would be a cure for the uncertainties visited upon this corner of south London by the doomed 77 day reign of Frank de Boer.

A few minutes before the start, Hodgson marched out of the tunnel in front of the Holmesdale End, where he had stood on that first visit as a child, and acknowledged the applause of the crowd before he walked towards the dug-out to take charge of a game for the first time since England were knocked out of Euro 2016 to the accompaniment of the Viking Thunderclap on June 27th last year.

Southampton piled the misery on Crystal Palace by securing a 1-0 victory at Selhurst Park in the lunchtime game on Saturday

Saints captain Steven Davis broke the deadlock early on, firing home from inside the penalty box after only six minutes

The Northern Ireland international celebrates his early goal, which silenced the home crowd at Selhurst Park on Saturday

Davis' sixth-minute goal ensured the tenure of newly-appointed Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson started with a defeat

MATCH DETAILS, LEAGUE TABLES AND MATCH ZONE 

Crystal Palace (4-4-1-1): Hennessey 5; Ward 5, Fosu-Mensah 6, Dann 6, Schlupp 4; Townsend 5, McArthur 5 (Milivojevic 69), Cabaye 4, Puncheon 4; Loftus-Cheek 7 (Sako 77), Benteke 5

Subs not used: Speroni, Van Aanholt, Tomkins, Lee Chung-yong, Kelly

Yellow cards: Cabaye 33, Puncheon 50, Ward 56, McCarthy 67, Dann 82

Southampton (4-2-3-1): Forster 7; Soares 6, Yoshida 6, Hoedt 6, Bertrand 7; Romeu 5, Lemina 7; Tadic 8 (Van Dijk 87), Davis 7, Redmond 6 (Ward-Prowse 85); Long 7 (Gabbiadini 90)

Subs not used: Stephens, McCarthy, Boufal, Targett

Goals: Davis 6

Yellow cards: Long 77 

Refere Bobby Madley  

Season at a glance

• Live tables
• Fixtures
• Scores

• Premier League
• Premier League
• Championship
• League One
• League Two
• Scottish Premiership
• Scottish Div 1
• Scottish Div 2
• Scottish Div 3
• Ligue 1
• Serie A
• La Liga
• Bundesliga

• More tables
• More fixtures
• More scores

Steven Davis scored the crucial goal following good work by Dusan Tadic on the right. See more stats and details from our Match Zone here.

Advertisement

Glad All Over rang around the ground. ‘So glad you’re mine,’ the Dave Clark Five sang as Hodgson walked up the touchline, past the Palace cheerleaders in their white crop-tops and their black leggings and their blue and red pom-poms, and on to the dug-out.

Some still mock him for what happened that night at the Allianz Riviera but Palace represents a chance to remind supporters that he is an accomplished manager who led Fulham to the Europa League final, managed Inter Milan, led Switzerland to a World Cup and won eight league titles at three clubs in Sweden and Denmark.

He has been anointed by some as the new Grand Old Man of English football, a dignified successor to Sir Bobby Robson and Sir Alex Ferguson and his appointment last week made him the first man over 70 to take over at a Premier League club.

The early signs, though, are that it will not be a short journey to redemption. A little under two hours after he took his seat in the dug-out, a big, baggy coat covered his suit and his hair was flattened by rain as he walked back towards the tunnel in the wake of a 1-0 defeat to an early goal from Steven Davis.

The former England, Liverpool and Blackburn manager greets the home crowd ahead of Saturday's clash with Southampton

Nathan Redmond dribbles away from Palace defender Joel Ward. The winger tested Hennessey twice during the first half

Cheers had turned to groans. He had been booed for substituting Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who had been Palace’s best player, even though Hodgson later explained that Loftus-Cheek had been suffering from cramp and could no longer run. Still, the optimism that had greeted his appointment had been given a hefty kick by reality.

In his return to the game, Hodgson had just watched Palace become the first top-flight team in the history of English football to lose their first five games and score no goals. Since 1888, 2,465 teams starting top-flight English seasons and Palace had just broken new ground.

Bournemouth’s victory over Brighton on Friday night had already left Palace marooned in miserable isolation at the foot of the Premier League. And in Hodgson’s next three games in charge, they will face Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea. Wilfried Zaha, the club’s star players, is still recovering from a knee injury. Mamadou Sakho, their leading defender, is not yet fit. All things considered, honeymoon periods aren’t what they used to be.

‘There are no dream jobs where you walk in and put your track suit on and everything just materialises,’ Hodgson said. ‘You have to work for these things. There is no lack of good attitude from the players I have got here and we know we have got a fight on our hands psychologically with the games we have got coming up.’ 

The Crystal Palace boss dishes out instructions to his side, who headed into the break 1-0 down following Davis' early goal

James McCarthur and Shane Long challenge for possession at Selhurt Park. Long made only 10 passes during the first half

England international Fraser Forster makes a crucial early save to prevent Christian Benteke from levelling the scores

Before Hodgson’s arrival, Palace had shipped seven goals in their first four league games this season, which included humbling home defeats to Huddersfield Town and Swansea City. Within a few minutes of the start yesterday, Hodgson was given a first-hand demonstration of the reasons why.

Dusan Tadic is one of Southampton’s most talented players but for some reason the Palace defence decided to give him the freedom of Selhurst Park for the entirety of the first half. Left back Jeffrey Schlupp left Tadic in glorious isolation, as if he’d been told the Saints wide man had a bug and it was catching.

Tadic did not need long to take advantage. Only six minutes had gone when he got the ball in space on the right. Schlupp closed him down eventually but Tadic drifted past him as if he wasn’t there and crossed into the box.

The ball flew across goal at catchable height but Hennessey palmed it away into the path of Davis. Davis scuffed his right-foot shot but it wrong-footed Ward, who had got back to try to cover, and bobbled over the line into the corner of the net. 

Palace failed to heed that warning. Tadic was Southampton’s go-to-guy for the first 45 minutes. Fortified by an outstanding performance from Mario Lemina at the heart of their midfield, the visitors fed Tadic relentlessly.

Palace, low on confidence and even lower on composure, seemed powerless to reorganise and stifle the threat. Only a series of last ditch clearances from Palace defenders stopped Tadic’s promptings put Southampton further ahead.

Saints midfielder Oriol Romeu tries to bring down a dropping ball. The Spaniard screened the back four with Mario Lemina

Davis is challenged by Palace midfielder Yohan Cabaye during the first half, another difficult 45 minutes for the home side

Benteke challenges for a high ball with Southampton's Wesley Hoedt. Only Forster's heroics prevented the forward equalising

Lemina brings the ball away from danger as Palace piled on the pressure early in the second half looking to level the scores

Jason Puncheon and Cabaye watch on as the ball flies beyond them. Saints weathered a brief Palace storm after the break

Palace did look better going forward and created plenty of chances of their own. Most of them were either made or attempted by Loftus-Cheek, who, revelling in regular first team action at last after his sojourn at the margins at Chelsea, looked a class above his teammates.

It was Loftus-Cheek who fashioned the first Palace chance for Benteke, early in the half, crossing for the Belgian striker whose close range shot was blocked by the body of Forster. And it was Loftus-Cheek who let the ball run after half an hour then darted on to a return pass from Benteke and fired a low, fizzing shot just wide.

Just before half-time, Loftus-Cheek had a low shot blocked by Bertrand. Just after it, he accelerated to the byline and drilled in a cross that only needed a firm touch to deflect it in. Puncheon did touch it but it was a faint nick that merely succeeded in taking the ball away from Cabaye, who was queuing behind him to try to grab the equaliser.

Luck seemed to be against the home side, although luck is sometimes a cover for ineptitude. Puncheon should have scored when Schlupp crossed into his path as he lurked unmarked on the edge of the six yard box but he hit his shot straight at Forster, who saved well.

Benteke created a number of good opportunities but he was denied by a combination of Forster and dogged defending

Cabaye puts his hands over his mouth in disappointment as another chance goes begging and frustration grows at Selhurt

Saints boss Mauricio Pellegrino instructs his players during a damp second half during which the visitors hung on at times

Cedric Soares tries to block Jeffrey Schlupp's pass as the rain poured down on another difficult day for Palace at Selhurst Park

When the goal did not come, Palace ran out of steam. Their attacks became more predictable and laboured and Southampton’s defence dealt with their forays forward with relative ease.

Hodgson tried to inject new momentum into the performance by substituting the tiring Loftus-Cheek with Sako 13 minutes from the end, a move that elicited a dull chorus of boos from the Holmesdale End.

Palace could not force a decent chance before the final whistle blew and when the end came, Hodgson turned to the Southampton boss Mauricio Pellegrino and offered his congratulations.

‘It is painful today and I fear it is going to be painful in some of the moments going forward,’ Hodgson said after the game. He knew already that football was not a merciful business. The ignominy of Iceland has been replaced by inheriting a start of historic awfulness at Palace. This time, at least, he has the chance to fix it. 

Liverpool summer transfer target Virgil van Dijk made his return to action, playing his first game for Saints since January

The defeat means Palace remain rooted to the bottom of the Premier League. They face Manchester City in their next match

Dusan Tadic and Lemina celebrate following the final whistle at Selhurst Park. The 1-0 victory takes Southampton up to fifth