Kamada's Last-Gasp Strike Rescues 10-Man Palace in 1-1 Draw With Hoffenheim

For 90 minutes it looked like another night to forget at Selhurst Park. Then Daichi Kamada did what he has done so often for Crystal Palace in Europe — he turned up when it mattered most. Palace were a goal down, a man down, and running out of ideas when the Japanese midfielder pounced in the first minute of stoppage time, sweeping home from Tyrick Mitchell's knockdown to rescue a 1-1 draw with Hoffenheim in the Europa League on Thursday night. The ball went through the legs of goalkeeper Oliver Baumann, the home crowd finally found its voice, and Pierre Sage — a coach who has spent the last few weeks fighting for his job — could breathe again. It had started badly and stayed that way for most of the evening. Kamada thought he had given Palace the lead inside four minutes, only for the offside flag to cut the celebrations short. Three minutes later Hoffenheim were in front. Tim Lemperle's raking pass found Alexander Prass, whose half-volley squirmed underneath Dean Henderson and crept over the line. It was a soft goal to concede, the kind that has haunted Palace all season, and the groans around Selhurst Park said everything about the mood. Palace pushed and probed without ever really convincing. Yeremy Pino, slipped in by Adam Wharton, forced a smart save from Baumann. Kamada, played through by the same man, dragged a shot just wide with the outside of his boot. Jean-Philippe Mateta forced two quick saves. But the equaliser would not come, and when Wharton was dismissed in the 77th minute — a second yellow card, nineteen minutes after his first, for an aerial challenge — the evening seemed to be slipping away entirely. Wharton's red card summed up a wretched run for the England midfielder and his team. In the five games before Thursday, Palace had conceded seven times and managed only one victory, in the Carabao Cup. Sage, who took charge with a reputation for calm, has admitted his side are still searching for the right balance, and the Times' verdict after the match was blunt: the late equaliser kept him from slipping closer to the exit, but he remains vulnerable. What saved Palace was spirit, and Kamada. Pino's deep cross found Mitchell at the back post, his header was cushioned across goal, and there was Kamada, cool as ever, to provide the finish. There was a VAR check, a pause, and then the release. It was Palace's first goal at Selhurst Park in all competitions since the 3-1 win over Nottingham Forest on October 11, and it kept their eight-game unbeaten run at home in Europe intact. The point leaves Palace on five from four league-phase games — not comfortable, not disastrous, but alive. Hoffenheim, denied a first win on English soil in heartbreaking fashion, stay on four. For Sage, though, the respite is only temporary. Palace host Liverpool on Sunday, and as the Times noted, he really needs a result. Kamada bought him time. Whether it is enough, the next few days will tell.