 Baltimore MD - Crystal Palace FC USA officially clinched a playoff spot in the most unlikely of circumstances in Harrisburg on Thursday night. The last-minute 2-1 win over the City Islanders also revived their faltering challenge for a top spot to ensure home field advantage in the post-season.
The win leaves Palace fourth in the table, one point behind Cleveland in third, four points behind Richmond in second, and nine points behind their opponents on Saturday, the top-placed Charlotte Eagles. Palace have one game in hand on all three teams above them.
The first real action of the game took place on five minutes when Palace midfielder Dan Lader barged into Mo Oduor breaking into the box. The referee awarded a penalty which Oduor converted, sending Brian Rowland the wrong way.
But Palace came straight back. In the 10th minute, Val Teixeira's free kick from 10 yards outside the left corner of the area evaded a sea of players and found Pat Healey well beyond the far post. The rookie forward crashed home a volley inside the near post for his fifth league goal of the season.
 Both side created plenty of chances over the next ten minutes, with efforts from Gary Brooks, Val Teixeira and Shintaro Harada all sailing high. Tempers started to flare in the 19th minute as Larry Mark was pushed into the side fence by David Schofield provoking a minor scuffle for which each player was booked.
The odds of a Palace victory dropped dramatically in the 36th minute. Palace striker Gary Brooks was trying to fend off Harrisburg's Brian Devlin but his elbow caught the diminutive midfielder in the side of the head. The referee immediately brandished a red card. Despite the one man disadvantage, Palace kept pace with Harrisburg as the half came to a close.
Palace continued to show no signs of being a man down as the second half got underway, with dangerous crosses from Val Teixeira and Larry Mark being well intercepted by Islanders' 'keeper Danny Cepero.
As the half wore on, Harrisburg started to create more opportunities while Val Teixeira was the danger man for Palace causing all sorts of trouble for Harrisburg down the left wing. But his time on the field ended prematurely when he was booked for the second time in the 76th minute handing Harrisburg a supreme opportunity. The Islanders dominated possession for the rest of the half, creating a hatful of chances, but their finishing was less than stellar.
The 89th minute introduction of Sergio Flores proved to be a stroke of genius by the Palace co-managers. Four minutes of stoppage time were added and with thirty seconds of that time left, Flores combined with Matthew Mbuta, who had been brought on just ten minutes earlier, to capitalize on a mix-up between the Harrisburg goalie and one of his defenders. Mbuta pounced on the loose ball just inside the box, lofting it perfectly over the remaining defender for Flores to nod home at the far post.
Despite the referee's addition of two and a half further minutes of stoppage time, Palace held on for the improbable victory.
Palace travel to Charlotte on Saturday night for the final fixture of their three game road trip to face the other Eagles at 7:05pm. They return home for Thursday's derby fixture with bottom-of-the-table Real Maryland at UMBC on 7:30pm, a game that will determine the winner of the inaugural DeOrsey Maryland Cup.
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