Sheffield Wednesday 1 Crystal Palace 2

Last updated : 02 January 2010 By Footymad Previewer
Substitute Calvin Andrew came off the bench to score the winner to give hard-up Crystal Palace a chance of a money-spinning tie in this battle of the Championship paupers.

Palace grabbed a first-half lead when Neil Danns rammed home a close-range shot before Clint Hill's own goal brought Wednesday level. But Andrew scored his first goal for Palace after 68 minutes to make it 2-1.

Both sides have mounting problems off the pitch. Palace's players have not been paid their December wages and had only enough staff to name four subs.

And Wednesday, managerless, £26million in the red and desperate for new investment, took the unprecedented step of closing the Hillsborough Kop - to save a few thousand pounds.

With only around 1,000 travelling fans it made for a bizarre sight with one end entirely empty and the other with just a few coachloads of Palace supporters.

But it was Palace, resurgent in the league despite their off-field problems, who took an early lead.

It came in the 19th minute when a blunder by centre-back Mark Beevers let in Alan Lee whose shot was blocked but broke to Danns and he stabbed in the opener for his fourth of the season from three yards out.

Before the break Wednesday , who looked short on confidence and ideas, saw shots by Leon Clarke and Francis Jeffers blocked.

But three minutes before half-time Wednesday were gifted an equaliser in bizarre fashion.

Tom Soares slipped a neat ball to Clarke but the big striker dragged a hopeless shot across the face of goal and the hapless Hill slid in and knocked the ball over his own goal-line with keeper Julian Speroni completely wrongfooted by Clarke's effort.

The dismal fare continued in the second half but Andrew struck ten minutes after arriving from the bench. He forced his way past Frank Simek and hit a low angled shot that went in off the post.

Five minutes later a mistake by Claude Davis let in Wednesday striker Jeffers but, with only Speroni to beat, the Palace keeper produced a vital save.