Jean-Philippe Mateta’s fine second-half goal earned Crystal Palace their first away league win of the season with a 1-0 victory at fellow strugglers Ipswich.
Mateta’s wonderful chipped finish in the 59th minute was the only moment of quality at Portman Road between two teams at the wrong end of the table.
The Frenchman nearly added a second but for a good Arijanet Muric save, although his goal was enough to see the Eagles move three points above the relegation zone, leaving Ipswich second bottom and two points from safety.
The home side, who lacked a threat in Saturday’s defeat at Nottingham Forest, once again struggled to create much, although Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson made a good first-half save from Harry Clarke’s header to keep it goalless, while Jacob Greaves headed against the post late on.
Kieran McKenna’s side are still searching for their first home league win since their Premier League return.
But Palace, who were solid defensively in the victory, are heading in the right direction with Oliver Glasner’s side making it three games unbeaten.
Could Palace and Guehi be in trouble with FA?
Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi wears the Rainbow Laces armband with the words ‘Jesus loves (heart symbol) you’ written across it
Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi could be in trouble with the Football Association after wearing another religious message on his rainbow captain’s armband.
The 24-year-old took to the field at Ipswich with the message ‘Jesus loves you’ on his rainbow-coloured armband.
It comes just three days after the defender’s armband bore the message ‘I love Jesus’ during their match against Newcastle, prompting the FA to contact Guehi and Palace to remind them of the governing body’s strict rules on religious messages.
But Guehi, who has spoken in the past about his devout religious beliefs, appears to have doubled down on the gesture.
The FA has so far declined to comment on whether any repeat by Guehi could lead to a charge.
Ipswich’s Sam Morsy (left) did not wear the rainbow armband but Guehi did at Portman Road
Palace boss Oliver Glasner addressed the issue after the match, saying: “We respect every player and especially Marc. He is our captain.
“Everyone knows he is a great guy, very humble, and I don’t think we should make it bigger than it is. In football we are all against discrimination and it’s a great campaign.
“We spoke about it. He’s no child, he’s an adult, he has his opinion and we respect it.”
Meanwhile, Ipswich skipper Sam Morsy again did not wear the rainbow armband, part of the Premier League’s campaign to show support for people in the LGBTQ+ community, having opted not to over the weekend due to his religious beliefs.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner supports Marc Guehi for writing a message on his captain armband
Mateta strikes again for Palace
Mateta celebrates scoring his fourth goal of the season
Mateta (28 goals) has become Crystal Palace’s joint third-highest scoring player in the Premier League (level with Luka Milivojevic), with only Wilfried Zaha (68) and Christian Benteke (35) netting more for the Eagles in the competition.
Since Glasner’s first game in charge of Crystal Palace, only Erling Haaland (17) and Yoane Wissa (16) have scored more non-penalty goals in the Premier League than Mateta (15).
Glasner: We are on the right path
Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner speaking at his post-match press conference:
“I feel very happy, we’re all very pleased with the result, it was not the best performance but the result was more important.
“Most of the time we controlled the game and we scored an amazing goal, a fantastic finish from JP (Mateta).
“We had more chances to decide the game but we couldn’t, but I think the win was well deserved. We didn’t give them any chances from open play and with a clean sheet you can always take the win.
“It’s a big win. Now it’s not time to sit back and relax but to keep going. In four days we face Manchester City. We stay humble. There are still many things to improve but we are on the right path.”
McKenna: We can do better
Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna speaking at his post-match press conference:
“Frustrating night. It was a tight first half, we weren’t fantastic in terms of the flow of the game and didn’t create as many opportunities as we wanted. But having said that neither did our opponents.
“In the second half we conceded a really poor goal and that proved decisive. We can do better than we did.”
