Archie Gray’s first senior goal gave Tottenham Hotspur a vital 1-0 Premier League win at Crystal Palace on Sunday, ending its poor away run and easing the pressure on their manager, Thomas Frank.
Tottenham thought it was ahead against the run of play when Richarlison tapped in Pedro Porro’s inviting cross, but the goal was disallowed for offside.
Jean-Philippe Mateta should have put Palace in front, but headed over from close range after Maxence Lacroix nodded a free kick across the face of goal. Gray made Palace pay and gave the visitor a barely deserved lead shortly before half-time, nodding home from three yards after Tottenham kept a Porro corner alive.
“It’s the best feeling,” a beaming Gray told Sky Sports. “You work your whole life for that moment, and hopefully I can just keep it going.”
Palace went close to an equaliser with Justin Devenny firing over on the spin and Lacroix heading narrowly wide, though Richarlison had the ball in the net again, with 15 minutes to play, only for VAR to intervene once more.
AS IT HAPPENED: CRY VS TOT HIGHLIGHTS
Tottenham, which had lost four of its last five away games in all competitions, held on to climb to 11th in the table on 25 points from 18 games. Palace, suffering its third straight league defeat and now winless in five games in all competitions, is ninth with 26 points.
Palace boss Oliver Glasner put the defeat down to a lack of ruthlessness. “I don’t blame anybody for missing the chances, but we have to accept right now that we have a little bit of a lack of finishing quality in the team,” he told reporters.
GRAY’S FIRST GOAL SETTLES POOR GAME
Both sides began in cagey fashion before Palace started to control the game, and Tottenham had barely touched the ball for a long spell when Richarlison snuck in at the back post to finish from close range in the 17th minute.
Lucas Bergvall, who had teed up Porro to lay the ball on a plate for Richarlison, had strayed offside in the build-up, however, and the goal was ruled out.
Mateta squandered Palace’s best chance of the half, heading over from close range, and Palace was left to rue the miss when 19-year-old Gray scored in the 42nd minute.
Porro’s booming corner to the back post was kept alive by Randal Kolo Muani, and Richarlison headed the ball towards goal, where Gray flicked it home to open his Tottenham account.
Devenny wasted a golden chance 10 minutes after the break, slicing over from close range, while Lacroix went close with a header before Richarlison thought he had settled the contest in the 75th minute.
The Selhurst Park faithful cheered the VAR’s decision like a Palace goal. However, Tottenham looked the more likely to score again, and substitute Wilson Odobert hit the post in the closing stages after a slick exchange of passes with Richarlison.
“That was a massive win in many ways,” Frank told reporters. “Was it a top performance? No. Is there things we can improve? Yes.
“But to go here, with the season where it’s been a little bit up and down, I think it’s a huge mentality shift from the players.”
Glasner, meanwhile, tried to reflect positively on a year in which Palace lifted its first trophy with its FA Cup triumph in May.
“I don’t feel it right now, but if we look back and see the whole picture, 2025 was an incredible year for Crystal Palace,” he said.
Published on Dec 29, 2025
