Below-par Eagles scrape home past a game Stoke City to reach last eight

FA Cup Fifth Round

Crystal Palace (0) 2 Kouyate 53, Riedewald 82

Stoke City (0) 1 Tymon 58

A late goal from sub Jairo Riedewald booked the Eagles an FA Cup quarter-final slot as they did just enough to overcome Championship side Stoke.

The Dutchman has barely featured this season – it was only his fifth appearance – but his late arrival swung the contest, with a little help from fellow sub, Conor Gallagher.

It was his first goal of the season and a precious one. The same could be said of Palace’s opening scorer.

Cheikhou Kouyate – whose only other goal this season came for Senegal against Equatorial Guinea in the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon on his country’s path to ultimate victory - found the roof of the net from six yards after a Wilfried Zaha cross had been scuffed goalwards by Jean–Philippe Mateta.

He only bagged one all last season too so it rated highly for novelty value.

The lead only lasted five minutes, as ex-Brentford man Romaine Sawyers drifted past Will Hughes and squared for Josh Tymon to bury at the far post but Palace hit back to clinch it.

The goals blew away the cobwebs after a frankly turgid opening half, when the leaky roof in the main stand offered the only interesting spectacle.

It was a constant sign of just how much the rain kept pouring down – and just how few chances we had to take our minds off the atrocious weather.

Patrick Vieira needed more zip from his side and sent on Gallagher, having initially opted to rest the on-loan midfielder on the basis that he thought the starting XI he picked – minus Christian Benteke, Ebe Eze and Odsonne Edouard – had enough about it to get the job done.

In the end, the Palace boss needed the help from the regular first-teamers coming off the bench to close out the deal.

Hughes went close with a shot just off target as the game opened up and Joachim Andersen peddled back to head a chip over Jack Butland off the line before Michael Olise went close.

But the home side found the target again after keeper Jack Bonham had flapped at a cross from the left from Gallagher. Riedewald – who had only just come on - latched on to control and rifle into the bottom corner past a thicket of green-shirted Stoke defenders.

Eagles: (4-3-3) Butland – Clyne, Andersen, Guehi, Adaramola (Schlupp 64) – Hughes (Milivojevic 78), Kouyate (Riedewald 78), Olise – J Ayew, (Gallagher 64) Mateta (Benteke 90), Zaha. Subs not used: Eze, Guaita, Edouard, Kelly

Potters: (3-5-2) Bonham – Moore, Chester (Fletcher 86), Harwood-Bellis – Smith, Allen, Sawyers (Vrancic 79), Thompson, Tymon – Powell (Campbell 86), Maja (Brown 67). Subs not used: Clucas, Bursik, Wilmot, Duhaney, Wright-Phillips