West Ham 2 Crystal Palace 2: Gayle dents Hammers' Champions League charge as Kouyate sees red

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Douglas Pyper2 April 2016

West Ham's Champions League hopes suffered a blow at the Boleyn Ground on Saturday as they were held to a 2-2 draw by Crystal Palace.

Palace started strongly, Damien Delaney giving the visitors the lead after 15 minutes when Adrian made a meal of collecting a free kick from Bakary Sakho; Delaney appeared at the back post to calmly head the ball into the goal.

Palace’s lead was short-lived with Manuel Lanzini levelling just three minutes later after good build-up play from Michail Antonio and Diafra Sakho.

Just before the end of the first half Dimitri Payet gave West Ham the lead with yet another stunning free kick. The Frenchman, who scored a set-piece on international duty in midweek, put his looping shot into the far right corner after tricking Wayne Hennessey into thinking he would go to his left.

The game changed 20 minutes into the second period when referee Mark Clattenburg showed Cheikhou Kouyate a straight red.

His challenge on Dwight Gayle was rash, going in with one foot and his studs up, but replays suggested a straight red was a little harsh.

Poor defending from the 10-man Hammers then gifted Palace a way back into the game. Angelo Ogbonna’s attempted clearance went all wrong, the ball bouncing off team-mate Winston Reid and into the path of Dwight Gayle who shot low beyond Adrian for his first Premier League goal of the season.

Both teams continued to look for a winner but neither side could break the deadlock as West Ham fell three points adrift of the top four. Palace, meanwhile, remain seven points clear of the drop zone.