Morrison rescues Palace
By Paul Higham. Last Updated: January 1, 1970 1:00am
Clinton Morrison's late strike broke nine-man Preston's hearts by grabbing a point for Crystal Palace.
Chris Lucketti had given North End the lead just before half time at Selhurst Park, but they then saw Claude Davis and Danny Dichio sent off in the second half.
With their fourth win in five Championship away games looming, Preston were denied all three points when Morrison struck just second before the final whistle.
Lucketti had earlier given Billy Davies' men the lead two minutes before the interval when Gabor Kiraly had failed to get hold of Paul McKenna's corner and Lucketti's header went over the line despite Ben Watson's best efforts.
Dichio saw red on 63 minutes when referee Steve Tanner adjudged that he had used an arm on Morrison in a melee around the Preston box.
Centre half Davis followed Dichio just six minutes for a high challenge on substitute Dougie Freedman, later leaving nine-man Preston to battle out the final 21 minutes.
The visitors held out and it looked like they would gain a hard-fought three points until Morrison, who had wasted a number of chances, tucked away Darren Ward's header in the dying seconds.
Matches
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npower Championship
Table
npower Championship
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cardiff City | 46 | 87 |
| 2 | Hull City | 46 | 79 |
| 3 | Watford | 46 | 77 |
| 4 | Brighton and Hove Albion | 46 | 75 |
| 5 | Crystal Palace | 46 | 72 |
| 6 | Leicester City | 46 | 68 |
| 7 | Bolton Wanderers | 46 | 68 |
| 8 | Nottingham Forest | 46 | 67 |
| 9 | Charlton Athletic | 46 | 65 |
| 10 | Derby County | 46 | 61 |
| 11 | Burnley | 46 | 61 |
| 12 | Birmingham City | 46 | 61 |
| 13 | Leeds United | 46 | 61 |
| 14 | Ipswich Town | 46 | 60 |
| 15 | Blackpool | 46 | 59 |
| 16 | Middlesbrough | 46 | 59 |
| 17 | Blackburn Rovers | 46 | 58 |
| 18 | Sheffield Wednesday | 46 | 58 |
| 19 | Huddersfield Town | 46 | 58 |
| 20 | Millwall | 46 | 56 |
| 21 | Barnsley | 46 | 55 |
| 22 | Peterborough United | 46 | 54 |
| 23 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 46 | 51 |
| 24 | Bristol City | 46 | 41 |
Clinton Morrison
Chris Lucketti
Danny Dichio
Claude Davis
