Crystal Palace v Derby County 18/04/09

FULL TIME: That was the last action and ten-man Palace hold on for their first win in seven games. The second half was certainly entertaining considering the dire opening 45 minutes but a draw would probably have been a fairer result. Next up is Doncaster next Saturday, see you then.

95 min: Oh dear how did Hulse miss. Bannan's cross finds him with an open goal four yards out but he volleys over, awful.

92 min: Corner to Derby off Clyne but Hill clear and Palace break with Stokes. Nothing comes of it.

90 min: YELLOW CARD. Four minutes added on as Teale is booked for a foul on Kuqi.

90 min: Stokes almost secures the win but his low curler goes just the wrong side of the post.

87 min: YELLOW CARD. Lawrence booked for a tackle on Villa who rolls around a lot and then makes a miraculous recovery.

85 min: SUB: Bannan on, Commons off.

84 min: Ooh Villa has a goal ruled out for offside as he heads home Nyatanga's cross. I reckon that was close.

80 min: Derby pressing but not really creating anything. The ref is giving a lot of free kicks to them though.

78 min: Kuqi given no support upfront but he still manages to nutmeg Savage and get a shot away but it’s easy for Bywater.

76 min: SUB: Sterjovski off, Villa on.

73 min: I've not been convinced by this ref today as he books Hill for a tug on Sterjovski when the lino didn't even flag for a foul and it was right in fron of him.

72 min: SUB: Pearson off, Eustace on.

72 min: Not sure how many shots Commons is going to need today but he's denied by Speroni again as he twists beyond McCarthy.

70 min: Palace look to have gone 4-3-2 with Ertl, Comley and Carle in the middle of the park but that leaves them a little open on the wings.

68 min: Attendance 14,736

65 min: SUB: Fonte off, Comley on as Palace look to shore up the midfield.

63 min: GOAL! Palace take the lead and Kuqi gets his 10th of the season. Hill's powerful header forward was left by the defence by the big Finn ghosted in between them and Bywater to flick the ball over the keeper and in. Great finish.

60 min: RED CARD. Moses off as he picks up a second yellow and it's a poor decision from ref Woolmer. From Palace's corner Derby tried to break with Bywater releasing Sterjovski but Moses gets what looks like a good tackle in on him only for the ref to blow for a foul and give a second yellow. Replays show he got the ball and that's a shame for him and Palace.

59 min: YELLOW CARD Sterjovski brings Moses down on the edge of the box and Carle's free kick hits the wall and goes wide.

57 min: Derby on top as Speroni again saves from Commons this time low to his left and from the corner Hulse hits the underside of the bar and the ball bounces down and out. Let off for Palace.

55 min: Commons looking the main threat this half as he shoots fro 20 yards and Speroni is forced to make a good save and push it behind for a corner. Lawrence clears.

50 min: Fonte's not been on his game today and he loses the ball in the middle of the park allowing Derby to break and Commons wastes a great chance as he crosses straight to Speroni.

48 min: Oh dear, Palace spend ages lining up a free kick 30 yards out but Carle and Stokes combine to muck it up and the ball ends up with Speroni. Poor.

46 min: Back out for the second half and no changes from either side so let's hope for better in this 45.

HALF TIME: Well that was pretty boring, I'm off for some sandwiches.

45 min: YELLOW CARD. Moses does brilliantly to get in to the box and then dives rather dramatically over Nyatanga's leg and is booked. He does that far too often.

45 min: Four minutes added on. Four too many.

45 min: Derby weave their way through the Eagles defence as Moses lets Pearson run and he crosses into Hulse three yards out but from somewhere a Palace leg puts it behind for a corner.

38 min: Commons gets a shot away after being teed up by Hulse but it's straight at Speroni again. This has been pretty dire.

34 min: Half chance for Derby as Teale gets in down the left and crosses across the six yard box but no one is there to tap in.

30 min: From the final corner Derby break and Clyne sticks out a leg brilliantly at the back post to get there ahead of Teale.

29 min: Palace with a bit of pressure as Stokes' free kick is cleared just before Kuqi can get to it and then there's three corners in a row that come to nothing.

25 min: Ertl moves into space and is allowed to run in to the box and fires left footed but skews it horribly. Poor shot and it's followed up a minute later by Stokes cutting inside his man and firing across goal but straight out for a throw. Shooting practice on Monday me thinks.

22 min: Carle cleans up well at the back as Commons prepares to shoot but there really isn't much going on. Hulse down now after an aerial challenge with McCarthy I think.

17 min: First bit of class from Palace as Kuqi releases Stokes down the right and Connolly does well to clear his cross over the bar ahead of Moses. The corner is flicked behind for another, which is headed over by Kuqi at the back post. Wasn't an easy chance.

14 min: First shot and goal and it's from Commons as he is allowed to jinx inside and shoot a daisy cutter but it's easy for Speroni and straight at him. Ertl hasn't looked entirely comfortable.

10 min: Quite scrappy early on and there's not much atmosphere. Clyne has impressed so far and kept Teale quiet.

5 min: Todd pushes Kuqi in the back and gifts Palace a free kick 25 yards out. Carle delivers a good ball but Kuqi can't quite get his head to it.

1 min: YELLOW CARD: That's the quickest booking I have ever seen, 33 seconds, as Carle goes in hard and late on Savage, jumping in to the back of his head. Was a bad challenge but still a little harsh to book him so early.

1 min: Palace get us of and under way, with Derby wearing a horrible lime green strip.

Palace: Speroni, Clyne, Lawrence, McCarthy, Hill, Moses, Carle, Ertl, R Fonte, Stokes, Kuqi. Subs: J Fonte, Scowcroft, Hills, Comley, Cadogan.

Derby: Bywater, Connolly, Commons, Savage, Hulse, Sterjovski, Nyatanga, Todd, Teale, Pearson, Albrechtson. Subs: Villa, Price, Eustace, Bannan, Beardsley.

Neil Warnock makes two changes to the side that suffered a disappointing lose at Southampton on Easter Monday, as Johnny Ertl makes his first and maybe only league start for the club, while Anthony Stokes is recalled to the starting 11. Jose Fonte and James Comley drop to the bench so presumably it will be 4-4-2 with Ertl and Carle in the centre of the park.

Welcome to this afternoon's game against Derby at Selhurst Park in which both sides will be eager for points to allay any lingering relegation fears.

It's probably impossible for Palace to go down given that other sides have to play each other but it will be nice to get a win just in case, while Derby manager Nigel Clough have said they need two more points to avoid the drop so he too will be wanting to win no doubt.