Puncheon backs his boyhood team to give Chelsea a run for their money

Two thousand miles south east of London, the last Crystal Palace player to score at Wembley will be in his local pub this afternoon cheering on his beloved Eagles against Chelsea in their FA Cup semi-final.

Jason Puncheon, whose strike against Manchester United in the 2016 final sparked a memorable dad dance from manager Alan Pardew, is now 35 and playing in Cyprus for Pafos FC.

His heart remains red-and-blue. He grew up near Selhurst Park where his mum worked behind the bar on match day.

As a player, he represented is local team 170 times between 2013 and 2019. As a fan, he is delighted to see them returning to their roots this season under Patrick Vieira, with young Londoners Michael Olise, Eberechi Eze, Marc Guehi and Tyrick Mitchell giving the team a surge of energy.

Puncheon’s pal Wilfried Zaha, who also grew up south of the river, is playing the best football of his career, with other former team-mates Nathaniel Clyne, Joel Ward and Jeffrey Schlupp contributing. The only shame is midfielder Conor Gallagher is ineligible to face his parent club.

‘Crystal Palace is a place for rough-diamond footballers,’ says Puncheon. ‘Kids who might have been overlooked at other clubs get a chance to prove themselves, like Eze, who was released by Arsenal.

‘Palace give the opportunity and Vieira has bought into that. What I see is a hungry team who also have technical ability.

‘He’s also been clever in giving the team a sense of calm. The two centre-backs don’t panic on the ball, it helps Palace control games and allows the forwards to shine.

‘I see how Wilf is enjoying his football again, expressing himself, getting himself into one-on-one situations. People are talking about him being the best Palace player of all time and