The boys have done it again! Brighton’s first return to Selhurst since October 26th 2002 saw the Palace hammer another five past the hapless seasiders in the perfect warm-up for Sunday’s crunch play-off match at Coventry.
Palace put out a strong side for the match, with nine of the starting eleven having had some taste of first-team action this season.
The other two starters were both trialists – Deon Burton from Portsmouth and club-searching Laurie Wilson.
The goal-fest began in just the second minute, with Tommy Black getting Palace off to the very best of starts with a fine shot. One became two half-way through the first half when Ben Watson linked up well with Burton and hammered home.
Palace had to wait until the second-half for the third, which came just six minutes after the restart. Burton again set up the move, with Tommy Black latching onto the ball and skinning a couple of Brighton defenders before knocking home his second.
The scoreline was given a familiar look with two goals in the last ten minutes of the game. Burton capped a good performance with a goal in the 80th minute, before Garry Borrowdale finished off the weak opposition with a cracking finish.
Palace XI:
Cedric Berthelin, Curtis Fleming, Garry Borrowdale, Ben Watson (Dolan ’74), Kit Symons, Darren Powell, Jamie.Smith, Laurie Wilson, Deon Burton, Tom Soares (Pritchard ’46), Tommy Black (Prigent ’65)