West Ham claim point at Crystal Palace to extend gap to Tottenham in fight for survival

[p]Having advanced to the semi-finals of the Conference League, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/crystal-palace/AovF1Mia/"]Palace[/a] could be forgiven for taking their eye off the ball in the league. However, 13 points from their last seven games heading into this one (W4, D1, L2) suggested that [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/glasner-oliver/CznGurCt/"]Oliver Glasner[/a]’s side were up for the fight in an evenly-matched opening quarter-hour.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/johnson-brennan/6XhWIWPP/"]Brennan Johnson[/a] has struggled to make an impact since joining the Eagles, and his frustrations continued in the first half as he skewed a free header off-target, shortly before whipping a strike wide of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hermansen-mads/fq8hQjAg/"]Mads Hermansen[/a]’s post.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/west-ham/Cxq57r8g/"]West Ham[/a] responded with a positive spell of their own, almost capitalising on a mistimed [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/henderson-dean/OpFOJojt/"]Dean Henderson[/a] punch with a goal-bound [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/castellanos-valentin/ET4rsqIP/"]Taty Castellanos[/a] bicycle kick that was blocked by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/lacroix-maxence/j5bGWFU7/"]Maxence Lacroix[/a].[/p][p]And the best chance of the half arrived just before half-time, but [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mavropanos-konstantinos/zBXgM0Xa/"]Konstantinos Mavropanos[/a] couldn’t continue his rich vein of goalscoring form as his towering header was pushed away by Henderson.[/p][image alt="Match momentum" id="a85a6954-2800-49c6-aa66-60f068a38801" credit-line="Opta by StatsPerform" guid="91b48b82-9169-4be3-a05c-1e05a9304c8a" original-width="1920" original-height="1080" /][p]Clear-cut chances were at a premium in a combative start to the second period, prompting Glasner into a triple change as the hour mark approached.[/p][p]An increasingly stop-start affair was in need of a spark, but as the contest ticked into the final 15 minutes, the game remained goalless and firmly in the balance.[/p][p]The home fans were briefly celebrating what they thought was a winning goal when substitute [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sarr-ismaila/ll2uTDkB/"]Ismaila Sarr[/a] lashed in on the turn from close range, yet a handball from [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mateta-jean-philippe/nsFUj6GN/"]Jean-Philippe Mateta[/a] saw the would-be breakthrough swiftly ruled out.[/p][p]That proved to be the last major event as West Ham ultimately settled for what could be a very useful point in their bid for Premier League survival.[/p][p]Nuno Espirito Santo may not have won any of his last six matches against Palace (D4, L2), but he won’t be too perturbed as the Hammers restored their two-point cushion over 18th-placed [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/tottenham/UDg08Ohm/"]Tottenham Hotspur[/a] with five to play.[/p][image alt="The bottom of the Premier League" id="abc5a396-f369-4fad-94a7-e34183429443" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="30d8fe42-d03c-4208-bf6c-9903cc231f45" original-width="1200" original-height="1200" /][p]Meanwhile, Palace missed the chance to register three H2H wins on the bounce for the first time in their history. However, it won’t concern the Eagles’ fans too much, as they sit firmly in mid-table, with Conference or even Europa League qualification still possible.[/p][p]They don't have to worry about relegation, which has now been officially confirmed for bottom side [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/wolves/j3Azpf5d/"]Wolves.[/a][/p][p][b]Flashscore Man of the Match: [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/disasi-axel/Q32vx71U/"]Axel Disasi[/a] ([a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/west-ham/Cxq57r8g/"]West Ham[/a])[/b][/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/crystal-palace-AovF1Mia/west-ham-Cxq57r8g/?mid=pbPN0UdK"]Click here to see all the stats of the match[/a].[/b][/p][p] [/p]