KARL WHITEHOUSE LOOKS AT THE HISTORY OF WOLVES V CRYSTAL PALACE
FIRST MEETINGS
- Division 2 – The first meeting of the two clubs in Division 2 was on the 19th November 1921 and the game finished 1-0 to Crystal Palace.
- Division 1 – The first meeting of the two clubs in Division 1 was on the 22nd November 1969 and the game finished 2-1 to Crystal Palace.
- FA Cup – The first meeting of the two clubs in the FA Cup was in the 1st Round on the 16th January 1909 and the game finished 2-2 and it went to replay.
- Premier League – The first meeting of the two clubs in the Premier league was on the 6th October 2018 and this was the first meeting in the top division since January 1981, the game finished in a 1-0 win for Wolves.
- Championship – The first meeting of the two clubs in the Championship was on the 9th August 2005 and the game finished in a 2-1 win for Wolves.
match of the day
There was a game near the date of the upcoming meeting in the premier league which was played on 6th November 2021 the game finished 2-0 to Crystal Palace played at Selhurst Park.
OTHER MEETINGS
The two teams met in a preseason friendly tournament called The Stateside Cup the game finished 3-1 to Crystal Palace the scores in the game for Crystal Palace were Schlupp, Ayew and Agbinone, Wolves scorer was S Bueno, this game played on the 31st July 2024 at the Naval Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
PLAY OFF MEETING
There were another two meetings between the two clubs as they faced each other in the Division 1 playoff semi-finals which was a 2-legged game. The 1st Leg which was played at Selhurst Park on the 10th May 1997, the game finished 3-1 to Crystal Palace and the 2nd Leg was played at Molineux on the 14th May 1997, the game finished 2-1 to Wolves but Wolves lost to Crystal Palace 4-3 on aggregate.
MOST RECENT MEETINGS
Premier League – The most recent game was on the 11th May 2024 the game finished 3-1 to Crystal Palace the palace scorers were Olise, Mateta and Eze, Wolves scorer was Cunha in front of 31,424 fans at Molineux and this was the fourth time Crystal Palace had completed a league double over Wolves first time since the 2012-2013 season.
FA Cup – The most recent game was in the 3rd Round on the 8th January 2021. this was played behind closed doors due to COVID-19 restrictions, the game finished in a 1-0 win for Wolves.
LAST 6 MEETINGS
6th November 2021 Crystal Palace 2 Wolves 0 at Selhurst Park
5th March 2022 Wolves 0 Crystal Palace 2 at Molineux
18th October 2022 Crystal Palace 2 Wolves 1 at Selhurst Park
25th April 2023 Wolves 2 Crystal Palace 0 at Molineux
3rd September 2023 Crystal Palace 3 Wolves 2 at Selhurst Park
11th May 2024 Wolves 1 Crystal Palace 3 at Molineux
BIGGEST WIN
- Division 1 – The biggest win between the two clubs was on the 1st March 2003 and the game finished 4-0 win to Wolves.
- Premier League – The biggest win between the two clubs was on the 20th July 2020, 30th October 2020, 25th April 2023 and the games finished 2-0 win for Wolves.
- Championship – The biggest win between the two clubs was on the 23rd February 2008 and the game finished 2-0 win for Wolves.
- FA Cup – The biggest win between the two clubs was on the 8th January 2021 and the game finished in a 1-0 win for Wolves.
DO YOU REMEMBER?
Wolves 2 Crystal Palace 0 25th April 2023
Wolves’ win over Crystal Palace moved them away from the relegation zone, placing them 13th and nine points clear.
Wolves’ goals came from a right-wing corner by Ruben Neves, which hit the legs of Palace defender Joachim Andersen and went into his own net, giving the home side the lead. Late in the game, Sam Johnstone, the Crystal Palace goalkeeper, gave away a penalty after a foul on Pedro Neto. He received only a yellow card, but it could have been red, as fans were calling for it. The referee opted for the easier choice. Ruben Neves stepped up to take the penalty and sealed the nervy win for the home side.
Wolves Team: Sa, Dawson, Kilman, Semedo, H Bueno, Lemina, Neves, Hwang, Nunes, D Costa, Cunha.
Substitutes: Bentley, Collins, Toti, J Gomes, Moutinho, Neto, Podence, Sarabia, Traore.
Goals: Andersen own goal (3), Neves penalty (90)
Manager: Julen Lopetegui
Crystal Palace Team: Johnstone, Guehi, Mitchell, Andersen, Richards, Eze, Hughes, Milivojevic, Lokonga, Olise, Ayew.
Substitutes: Guaita, Riedewald, Tomkins, Ward, Schlupp, Doucoure, McArthur, Edouard, Mateta.
Manager: Roy Hodgson
Attendance: 30,792
BIGGEST DEFEAT
- Division 2 – The biggest defeats between the two clubs was on the 28th April 1923 and the game finished 5-0 win for Crystal Palace.
- Division 1 – The biggest defeat between the two clubs was on the 14th September 2002 and the game finished 4-2 win for Crystal Palace.
Premier League – The biggest defeat between the two clubs was on the 3rd September 2023 and the game finished 3-2 win for Crystal Palace.
- Championship – The biggest defeat between the two clubs was on the 12th January 2008 and the game finished 3-0 to Crystal Palace.
- FA Cup – The biggest defeat between the two clubs was on the 22 March 1995 in a FA Cup Quarter Final Replay after the original game finished 1-1 and this game finished 4-1 to Crystal Palace.
HEAD TO HEAD
Do you remember this big win against Crystal Palace?
Wolves 4 Crystal Palace 0 1st March 2003
Kenny Miller produced the first shot of the game in the 18th minute, but his shot went wide of the goal. Colin Cameron attempted a volley, but it went over the crossbar from twenty-five yards out of the Crystal Palace goal. Eventually, Kenny Miller scored the opening goal for Wolves five minutes before the halftime break when a Palace defender made a mistake. This allowed Proudlock to break free with a low cross that evaded everyone and reached Kennedy, who then passed it to Miller for a close-range tap-in.
Palace did not have many chances in this game, rarely threatening the Wolves goal. It was Wolves who added a second goal when Kennedy delivered a lovely cross towards substitute Sturridge, who poked it home to make it 2-0 in the 77th minute. Wolves continued to attack and scored a third goal when Cameron passed to Miller, who broke the offside trap six minutes later to make it 3-0.
Late in injury time, Wolves were awarded a penalty after a foul by Powell on Miller. This was Miller’s chance to step up and complete his hat trick, which he did, making it 4-0 and netting his 12th goal in nine games this season, consolidating Wolves’ position in the playoffs.
Wolves Team: Murray, Irwin, Lescott, Butler, Naylor, Newton, Ince, Cameron, Kennedy, Miller, Ndah.
Substitutes: Oakes, Clyde, Sturridge, Rae, Proudlock.
Manager: Dave Jones
Crystal Palace Team: Berthelin, Symons, Powell, Popovic, Butterfield, Mullins, Derry, Riihilahti, Gray, Johnson, Adebola.
Substitutes: Kolinko, Akinbiyi, Routledge, Black, Granville.
Manager: Trevor Francis
Attendance: 26,010
PLAYING FOR BOTH TEAMS
Jamie Smith Played for Wolves 1994-1997 made 87 appearances and scored 1 goal and Played for Crystal Palace 1997-2004 made 149 appearances and scored 4 goals and is currently Assistant Manager at Sheffield Wednesday.
Kevin Muscat Played for Crystal Palace 1996-1997 made 53 appearances and scored 2 goals and Played for Wolves 1997-2002 made 180 appearances and scored 14 goals.
Dougie Freedman Played for Crystal Palace in two spells 1995-1997 and 2000-2008 made 327 appearances and scored 95 goals and is currently the sporting director of Crystal Palace.
Bakary Sako Played for Wolves 2012-2015 made 118 appearances and scored 36 goals and played for Crystal Palace in two spells 2015-2018 and 2019 made 47 appearances and scored 5 goals.
Rob Edwards Played for Crystal Palace 2003 in a loan spell from Aston Villa made 7 appearances and scored 1 goal and played for Wolves 2004-2008 made 100 appearances and scored 1 goal and also had a spell of Interim manager in 2016 for Wolves and 2018-2019 Manager of U23 Wolves side.
Jermaine Easter Started his career 1999-2001 as trainee at Wolves and played for Crystal Palace 2011-2013 made 55 appearances and scored 8 goals.
Neil Emblen Played for Wolves in two spells 1994-1997 and 1998-2001 made 203 appearances and scored 16 goals and played for Crystal Palace 1997-1998 made 13 appearances.
Marc Edworthy Played for Crystal Palace 1995-1998 made 126 appearances and played for Wolves 2002-2003 made 22 appearances.
Mark Kennedy Played for Wolves 2001-2006 made 167 appearances and scored 12 goals and played for Crystal Palace 2006-2008 made 46 appearances and scored 1 goal.
Simon Osborn Played for Crystal Palace 1988-1994 made 55 appearances and scored 5 goals and played for Wolves 1995-2001 made 162 appearances and scored 11 goals.
Geoff Thomas Played for Crystal Palace 1987-1993 made 195 appearances and scored 26 goals and played for Wolves 1993-1997 made 46 appearances and scored 8 goals.
Eric Young Played for Crystal Palace 1990-1995 made 161 appearances and scored 15 goals and played for Wolves 1995-1997 made 31 appearances and scored 2 goals.
Paul Stewart Played for Crystal Palace in a loan spell from Liverpool 1994 and made 18 appearances and scored 3 goals and played for Wolves also in a loan spell from Liverpool 1994 made 8 appearances and scored 2 goals.
Andy Turner Played for Crystal Palace 1998-1999 made 2 appearances and played for Wolves 1999 and didn’t make a single appearance for the club.
Carlo Nash Played for Crystal Palace 1996-1998 made 21 appearances and played for Wolves 2000-2001 never made a appearance for the club.
Kevin Doyle Played for Wolves 2009-2015 made 164 appearances and scored 30 goals and played for Crystal Palace 2014-2015 in a loan spell made 3 appearances.
Marcus Bent Played for Crystal Palace 1998-1999 made 28 appearances and scored 5 goals and played for Wolves in a loan spell 2010-2011 made 3 appearances.
Steve Claridge Played for Crystal Palace 1988 didn’t make a single appearance for the club and played for Wolves 1998 made 5 appearances.
John Burridge Played for Crystal Palace 1978-1980 made 88 appearances and played for Wolves 1982-1984 made 74 appearances.
Wayne Hennessey Played for Wolves 2006-2014 made 152 appearances and played for Crystal Palace 2014-2021 made 110 appearances.
Stephen Hunt Played for Crystal Palace 1999-2001 made 3 appearances and played for Wolves 2010-2013 made 56 appearances and scored 7 goals.
George Ndah Played for Crystal Palace 1992-1997 made 101 appearances and scored 11 goals and played for Wolves 1999-2006 made 57 appearances and scored 15 goals.
Sam Johnstone Played for Crystal Palace 2022-2024 made 34 appearances and currently playing for Wolves 2024 made 5 appearances.
Other players who played for both teams.
Billy Bassett, David Burnside, Charles Cross, Tony Evans, Adam Haywood, John Holsgrove, John Humphrey, Kenneth Hunt, Steffen Iversen, Davy Jordan, Tommy Langley, Mark Lazarus, Gavin Mahon, Alf Somerfield, Ted Thorpe, Alf Tootill, Bobby Woodruff, Terry Wharton, Darren Ward & George Walker.
Played and Managed or Coached Both Clubs
Ronnie Allen Played for Crystal Palace 1961-1966 made 100 appearances and scored 34 goals and managed Wolves 1966-1968.
Gary Goodchild Played for Crystal Palace 1979-1981 made 2 appearances and now is scout for Wolves 2017 to present day.
Bobby Mimms Played for Crystal Palace 1996 made 1 appearance and was goalkeeping coach at Wolves 2001-2008.
Shaun Derry Played for Crystal Palace in three spells 2002-2005, 2007-2008 loan deal and 2008-2010 made in total 226 appearances and scored 3 goals and Joined Wolves August 2023 as first team coach part of the new management setup there.
ARTICLE BY KARL WHITEHOUSE
I am a Wolves fan been for over 30 years where
I have supported them both home and away games in the 80’s, 90’s and 00’s and now like looking into wolves games the stats behind the games they play in the premier league and also look other stats if asked by someone else in the podcast. I have also done the 92 football league grounds and shortly be doing a ebook about peoples favourite match they went to along with a match report and if possible stats from game.