Palace actually played pretty well, despite the scoreline. There were good performances from Wayne Routledge and Tony Popovic, and new boy Andy Johnson showed some good touches when he came on as a second half substitute.
Ex Palace favourites Phil Barber, Richard Shaw, Alan Pardew, John Salako and Geoff Thomas were introduced to the crowd at half time, but the biggest and longest cheer of the night came when Palace legend Steve Coppell was introduced. Simon Rodger took the microphone and thanked the fans for their magnificent support over the years and said that the reason he had stayed so long at Palace was the brilliant support and that Palace were a great club. He thanked the players for their help and support and wished the club, players, fans, Steve Kember and Terry Bullivant all the best for the coming season. Pointedly, there was no mention of Trevor Francis, whose decision to release Rodger was greeted with distain in some quarters.