The self-proclaimed ‘greatest fans in the land’ stood in stony silence for the last twenty minutes of this match as United’s title hopes were finally snuffed out by Palace.
The Reds’ supporters had arrived at Selhurst intent on mischief, with a ‘Cantona Day’ planned in celebration of their sardine-throwing midfielder’s moment of madness some ten years ago.
Meanwhile, their manager arrived in supremely confident mood, relaxed enough with the challenge posed by the Eagles that he felt comfortable leaving top-scorer Rooney on the bench, as well as Palace’s Old Trafford nemesis Paul Scholes and tricky winger Cristiano Ronaldo.
But the day belonged to the players and fans in red-and-blue. There can be no doubt this was the defining performance of Palace’s season so far. Dowie’s men were exceptional in the home draw against Arsenal, but that was a Gunners side already wobbling after losing their unbeaten run.
United, by contrast, have been unstoppable in recent weeks. They arrived in SE25 on the back of a six-match winning streak, with Ferguson talking confidently of cutting Chelsea’s lead at the top to just three points. Palace, however, had other ideas.
From the off, Ferguson’s selection gamble looked to be backfiring. United were spineless without the invention of Scholes, and it took them the best part of half an hour to muster a meaningful effort on goal. Palace looked lively on the break but, more importantly, resolute in defence – with Gonzalo Sorondo looking more and more like the most inspired Dowie signing thus far.
Half-time came with the Selhurst crowd starting to come around to the idea that here was a less than invincible United side, but still awaiting the entrance of Ferguson’s main artillery. And no sooner had the second-half began, it seemed, than the Reds’ manager had seen enough. Ronaldo and Scholes started some vigorous warm-ups and were soon thrown into what had become a midfield stalemate. Surely now United would push us back.
But it wasn’t the trickery of the Reds’ subs that turned the tide of the match, rather the inexperience of the man in the middle. Mark Clattenburg still looks very much the rookie ref that he is at this level, and he was handing out yellow cards at an alarming rate. Lakis collected his second on 64 minutes, a booking for which he can have no complaints. But his first, just a few minutes earlier, was a different matter.
Clattenburg, perhaps shaken by the tirade thrown at him by Ferguson as the players left for half-time, seemed determined to give United’s theatrical fallers the benefit of every doubt throughout the second half. And quite how Giggs’ elaborate swan-dive under the merest touch from Lakis merited the player’s first booking remains a mystery.
But if United thought the extra man would work to their advantage, they were quite wrong. Dowie’s teamwork mantra runs deep through the Eagles side these days, and here was a Palace team that were not for the beating.
The sending-off resulted in the game being played almost exclusively around Palace’s 18-yard box, but the players dug in with a resilience that will give every fan heart for the remaining games of this relegation battle. Boyce was immense, even by his own impressive standards. Hughes was every inch the inspirational captain. Hall and Sorondo were exceptional in the heart of defence. Every player looked full of belief and desire.
For United’s part Van Nistelrooy did his best to help our cause, fluffing two of the clearest chances he can have seen in many a season. Rooney, meanwhile, made a belated appearance and almost instantly worked himself into such a rage with Clattenburg that he can count himself fortunate to have only seen yellow.
Off the pitch, the ooh-aah-Cantonas had long ceased to be heard from the away end. The United fans who had packed their allocation expecting a routine win had finally come to terms with the fact that here, at a sleet-sodden Selhurst, their Premiership aspirations ended. The rest of Selhurst was jumping - Iain Dowie’s name ringing through the darkening skies. A few nervy moment were all that were to be endured before the final whistle came and the Eagles took the point we so richly deserved. For Palace, the season lives on.