Crystal Palace lost their fifth home top-flight London derby in a row on Saturday, with the Eagles going down 1-0 to West Ham in a game which saw Christian Benteke balloon a penalty high, wide and not very handsome.
As the final whistle loomed, the frustration around Selhurst Park grew, with one of the ballboys even taking things into his own hands as the Hammers tried to slow the game down.
West Ham took the lead through Manuel Lanzini on 19 minutes, but the Eagles had a chance to level the scores when Benteke was fouled by Angelo Ogbonna in the box. However, the ex-Liverpool man launched his spot-kick horribly wide…
It’s one thing having your penalty saved, but when it’s by a bloke in the crowd…. #CRYWHU #benteke pic.twitter.com/vPkTZF8lDB
— Rachel Martin (@RachelVMartin) October 15, 2016
Late on Aaron Cresswell harshly saw red for a second bookable offence as Slaven Bilic’s side hung on. However, one ballboy was keen to hurry West Ham ‘keeper Adrian along, running onto the pitch and placing the ball ahead of a goal-kick…
Alas, the cheeky ballboy’s tactics would prove fruitless as the visitors held on for a hard-fought win.
While Alan Pardew’s Palace stay eighth, West Ham move up to 15th spot.