Jordan Ayew strikes for Crystal Palace to keep Brighton in the mire – The Guardian, Theguardian.com

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As usual on these occasions, There was a significant police presence outside the ground and there was no shortage of action in the opening exchanges on the pitch despite the early kick-off. A glorious pass from James McArthur which picked out Christian Benteke in the fifth minute could easily have given Palace the perfect start but the striker’s volley was nowhere near the target. His confidence in front of goal may be almost non-existent these days but the Belgian is always a danger in the air and it was from his header that Cheikhou Kouyaté had Palace’s next opportunity, only to be denied by a good save from Mat Ryan. Brighton were slow to find their rhythm but, having dominated large parts of the 1-1 draw between these sides at Selhurst Park back in December , started to do so again. Neal Maupay’s shot was well saved by Vicente Guaita after a mistake from Wilfried Zaha gifted away possession, with the Ivory Coast forward – most definitely the pantomime villain in these parts – then getting himself into a heated exchange with Ezequiel Schelotto after the Brighton substitute kicked the ball at him after it went out of play. Replays appeared to show Zaha spitting on the ground rather than directly at the Argentinian. “I’m glad he didn’t lose his head,” admitted a relieved Hodgson afterwards.