Report & Highlights: Eagles defeat Irons to extend impressive unbeaten run

Summary:

• Four changes to Palace’s starting XI at London Stadium, with Henderson, Richards and Mitchell returning and Wharton back from injury.
• 6: Henderson makes point-blank block from Mavropanos’ header at a corner.
• 9: Kamada’s corner threatens to sneak in at the near-post, but Areola turns it over.
• 23: Palace threaten through Kamada and Pino’s movement, without a clear chance.
• 32: Kamada glances a difficult header wide, after Pino nods back across goal.
• 36: Pino’s half-volley deflects over the bar from close range after pinball in the box.
• 37 – GOAL: Mateta reacts quickest on the rebound after Guéhi’s header is saved.
• 42: Richards makes superb tackle to deny Wilson a breakaway.
• 45+2: Pino and Lacroix shut down Wilson as the striker appears to be in space.
• HT: West Ham 0-1 Palace
• 47: Lacroix heads against the bar from Wharton’s in-swinging corner.
• 49 – GOAL: Bowen glances in an equaliser at the near post – again from a corner.
• 53: Muñoz is picked out by Mitchell’s high cross, but volleys into the ground and wide.
• 60: Henderson produces a brave punch to deny Füllkrug in front of goal.
• 63: Richards clears off the line from Paquetá’s drifting header.
• 68 – GOAL: Mitchell smashes in a right-footed volley to restore Palace’s lead.
• 75: Palace press forwards in search of a clincher, Lerma testing Areola’s handling.
• 88: Devenny bends his effort wide from the edge of the box as Palace seek a clincher.
• FT: West Ham 1-2 Palace

The Eagles were looking to win a second London derby of the week, having been taken all the way to penalties by South London rivals Millwall in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday.

Manager Oliver Glasner duly shuffled his pack at London Stadium, with Dean Henderson, Chris Richards, Tyrick Mitchell and Adam Wharton all returning to start – the latter after having missed our previous two games through injury.

Unbeaten in our previous 16 matches in all competitions, Palace were also undefeated in their last six visits to the London Stadium, including a 2-0 win on the ground back in January.

But as with that victory earlier in the year, the first-half was a cagey affair of few chances, as two similarly-shaped sides by-and-large cancelled each other out.

There was an exchange of early half-chances from set-pieces: Henderson doing well to come off his line and block from Konstantinos Mavropanos’ close-range header six minutes in, moments before Daichi Kamada’s corner – aimed at the near post – needed tipping over by Alphonse Areola in the West Ham goal.

That was as close as either side would come inside the opening half-an-hour – with Palace getting into a number of promising positions, Yeremy Pino and Kamada both heavily involved, without much incident of note at either end.

But as the half wore on, so too did Palace’s domination grow – and the game, slowly but surely, began to open up.

It was the two playmakers who created the first real opportunity after 32 minutes, a hanging cross from Daniel Muñoz being nodded back across goal by Pino. Challenged by a claret and blue shirt and leaning back, Kamada glanced a header wide of the mark.

A few minutes later, another hanging cross caused havoc inside the West Ham penalty area, the ball bobbling around – and off several players of both teams – before falling for Pino to hit. His instinctive half-volley took a deflection off Kyle Walker-Peters, clearing the bar.

But West Ham’s recent fragility from set-pieces came to the fore from the subsequent corner, as Kamada swung the ball in, Marc Guéhi rose highest – and his header goalwards forced a fine save from Areola.

Jean-Philippe Mateta was in prime position to hook the rebound goalwards, and it duly crossed the line, despite the best efforts of Mavropanos to clear his lines – the Frenchman’s third goal in his last two visits to East London.

The goal appeared to give Palace renewed attacking confidence, but they were indebted to two fine pieces of defending as the clock neared half-time – Chris Richards, solid in the opening half, making a super sliding tackle on Callum Wilson, before Pino, at the culmination of an impressive West Ham counter, made an important challenge on the same player.

A half-time substitution saw Justin Devenny introduced in place of Pino – and Palace almost immediately doubled their lead, again from a corner. Wharton swung it in this time and Maxence Lacroix, unsighted until the final moments, thumped a header goalwards – it cannoned off the bar, and away.

But for all of West Ham’s previous struggles from set-pieces, it was from a corner that they equalised moments later – and it was all too easy from a Palace perspective, as Jarrod Bowen peeled away to the near post unmarked and glanced a header across goal and into the far corner of the net.

It had taken a while, but the goal sparked a much more open contest in East London for the final 40 minutes, with Muñoz being picked out by Mitchell’s hanging cross. Taking it first-time on the gallop, the Colombian volleyed into the ground, and into the side-netting – a difficult chance.

West Ham were far more creative in the second-half, with excellent goalkeeping demanded from Henderson to deny his England teammate Bowen low down, before a brave punch to deny substitute Niclas Füllkrug a close-range header.

Richards, too, was called upon, making a vital intervention on the line after Lucas Paquetá had looped a header from Bowen’s cross ominously towards the far corner.

For that resilience, Palace were duly rewarded after 68 minutes – and with the most decisive of finishes from Mitchell, too.

When Richards played the ball inside to Wharton, his looped cross caused two West Ham bodies to get in one another’s way.

The ball dropped out the sky, six yards out, on his less-favoured right boot, for Mitchell – and the 26-year-old produced an Exocet missile of a finish, crashing the ball high beyond Areola for his first goal since May 2024 against Manchester United.

The strike restored Palace’s momentum, and Muñoz, Eddie Nketiah – on as a substitute for his first appearance of the season – and Jefferson Lerma all threatened the West Ham goal in the next few minutes, the latter forcing a low stop from Areola on the volley.

As the match entered its final quarter-of-an-hour, there was still some defending for Palace to do – with Richards in particular producing two important challenges.

As the home team poured more bodies forwards, opportunities did open up for Palace in the final third, with Devenny bending a strike high and wide from the edge of the ‘D’ in the closing stages.

Seven additional minutes gave West Ham cause to apply further pressure – but in truth Palace’s goalmouth was seldom threatened in that time, as Mateta and Mitchell’s goals proved enough to secure back-to-back wins at London Stadium for the first time in a decade.

West Ham: Areola (GK), Walker-Peters, Mavropanos, Kilman, Diouf, Ward-Prowse, Fernandes (Magassa, 78), Paquetá, Bowen, Summerville (Luis Guilherme, 78), Wilson (Füllkrug, 59).

Subs: Hermansen (GK), Igor, Todibo, Scarles, Rodríguez, Irving.

Palace: Henderson (GK), Muñoz, Richards, Lacroix, Guéhi, Mitchell, Hughes (Lerma, 65), Wharton, Pino (Devenny, HT), Kamada, Mateta (Nketiah, 75).

Subs: Matthews (GK), Clyne, Canvot, Sosa, Cardines, Uche.

As It Happened