Match report from tonight's home win in the encounter versus Wolverhampton Wanderers
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Danny Butterfield scored the quickest hat-trick in Crystal Palace's history as they booked a money-spinning FA Cup fifth round tie against Aston Villa with a stunning 3-1 win over Wolves.
The Eagles are in need of all the extra cash they can get after going into administration last week with debts of over £30million and Butterfield struck three times in the space of five minutes and 58 seconds to set up a lucrative meeting with Martin O'Neill's team.
Butterfield, normally deployed at right-back but pushed into an attacking wide role in the last two matches to replace Victor Moses, nodded in from close range on 61 minutes after Wolves keeper Wayne Hennessey could only parry Matt Lawrence's header from a Darren Ambrose corner.
And in the 65th minute he slotted in after Alan Lee's flick was prodded into his path by Ambrose.
The direct approach paid off for Palace again in the 68th minute when Julian Speroni's long kick was once again won in the air by Lee and Butterfield continued his run to slip the ball through the legs of Hennessey.
The victory was nothing less than the South Londoners deserved as they made their Premier League opposition look distinctly ordinary - the visitors produced their first notable effort on goal when captain Karl Henry struck a left-foot shot into the top corner of the net in the 90th minute.
The first half was a scrappy affair and the best chance of a forgettable opening 45 minutes came near the end as Nick Carle's shot just fizzed past Hennessey's left upright.
But the Eagles lifted the tempo after the restart and Ambrose forced the Wolves keeper to make a diving save from his free-kick in the 47th minute.
But the drama unfolded shortly after the hour mark as Butterfield scored his first hat-trick of his career in unforgettable fashion. |
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