Crustal Palace...1 Leeds Utd...2 It required a mistake by the referee and his assistants to steer Leeds towards their first appearance in the FA Cup quarter-finals since 1998.
In the 39th minute they failed to see that a shot by Tommy Black, which would have put Palace 2-1 up, had crossed the line - nor did they detect that it had also struck Michael Duberry's arm before Danny Mills cleared. Trevor Francis's team might have settled for a penalty and a red card.
Leeds, however, did not live by good fortune alone, even though the team is very uneven. With Jonathan Woodgate transferred to Newcastle, the worries about the defence are exacerbated by injury problems. Terry Venables cannot have a sense of security when Duberry and Lucas Radebe must form the centre of their defence.
For all that, the manager still had cause to hope that his side would subdue a crowd that wished to despise him raucously for his stewardship of Palace during his second, disastrous spell at the club. In the midst of the devastation at Elland Road, Harry Kewell, almost perversely, is approaching peak form.
With assistance from Alan Smith, he prevented a dynamic Palace from keeping Leeds pinned down. It was hard to know where to start in admiring the winner from him in the 72nd minute.
The forward was not even facing the correct direction as he gathered a pass on the right, yet he still managed to turn and tear himself away from his countryman Hayden Mullins. Darren Powell then imagined that he could muscle Kewell out of the danger area, only to find there is a surprising upper-body strength to be overcome. After all the exertion, the attacker still had the calmness to flight a left-footer into the corner of the net.
"Harry is a match-winner," declared Venables. "When I came to Leeds people said he could only play on the left wing. But he's a better all-round player for having developed his game in that forward role."
Despite the other provocations, Francis was gracious about the virtuosity. "You simply just don't get skill like that in the First Division," he said.
Leeds notched the opener after 32 minutes in a manner that could have reduced Palace to wallowing in self-pity. The visitors did take their free-kick with great alacrity and Cedric Berthelin was still within touching distance of his right-hand post as he organised the wall. Nonetheless, there is no rule that forces a referee to give the defence all the time it wishes.
There had to be admiration for the sharp wits of Gary Kelly as well as the skill with which he hoisted the ball just inside Berthelin's left post.
Palace responded impressively and with maximum vehemence.
After 34 minutes they forced a corner that Leeds cleared only to the edge of the area, where Julian Gray struck a crisp half-volley that found the net via a deflection from Mills.
They were more expressive still in the build-up to the afternoon's controversy. Aki Riihilahti's short, considered pass to Danny Butterfield was followed by a shot from Andrew Johnson that Paul Robinson parried.
The ball rolled right along the line and the officials refused to declare that Black then scored a legitimate goal from close range. For one afternoon at least, luck helped compensate Leeds for all the quality they have lost lately.
Guardian Service
CRYSTAL PALACE: Berthelin, Powell (Akinbiyi 90), Symons (Granville 50), Mullins, Butterfield (Freedman 79), Riihilahti, Derry, Black, Gray, Johnson, Adebola. Subs Not Used: Kolinko, Thomson. Goals: Gray 35.
LEEDS: Robinson, Harte, Radebe, Duberry, Mills, Wilcox, Seth Johnson, Okon (Milner 60), Kelly, Kewell (Barmby 75), Smith (Lucic 85). Subs Not Used: Martyn, Kilgallon. Booked: Seth Johnson, Duberry, Kewell. Goals: Kelly 33, Kewell 73.
Referee: D Gallagher (England).
