Graeme Lee ‘forever grateful’ to Crystal Palace for cancer treatment donations

Hartlepool manager Graeme Lee insisted he will be forever grateful to Crystal Palace after the Premier League club donated towards his wife’s cancer treatment on the eve of Saturday’s FA Cup fourth-round tie.

First-half goals by Marc Guehi and Michael Olise helped the Eagles to a comfortable 2-0 win but the result played second fiddle to the positive relations built between the two teams since the draw.

Lee expressed his gratitude to the south London outfit, who subsidised the travel of the 4,700 Hartlepool fans in attendance before they made a donation to the JustGiving page of Gemma Lee.

The initial target for the JustGiving page of £60,000 – to fund a year’s supply of medicine – was hit on Saturday morning after a tweet by the official Twitter account of the Premier League club on Friday.

Lee said: “What Crystal Palace have done, not only for putting the buses on for the fans to come down but for what they have done for me and my wife is absolutely immense.

“I am forever grateful and not just to the club but for the fans’ support. Last time I looked before the game it was over a year’s supply of medication for my wife and for us to know that is absolutely unbelievable.

“The support and messages from the fans means as much, especially for my wife because the well-wishes and positive energy coming for her can only help.

“A massive thanks from me, especially to all of Crystal Palace. I will follow Crystal Palace and hope they have success going forward now for what they have done.”

Backed by a buoyant away support, Hartlepool conceded after four minutes when Olise picked out Guehi to tap home from a free-kick.

The creator turned goalscorer with 22 minutes on the clock when Olise cut inside and curled into the bottom