If you read all the comments that followed the Cheikhu Kouyate's red card for his tackle on Dwight Gayle, you would have thought it was the most innocuous of challenges he'd committed.

It was neither fair nor 'just' robust. Slaven Billic suggested it might not have been worthy of a yellow card let alone a red - but that alone tells you that he's not in a position to make a fair assessment.

This was a tackle that, had it been on Dimitri Payet, would have incensed West Ham fans. While Kouyate won the ball, he also left a stud-showing high foot in. Enough to leave a mark on Gayle. Had his foot been planted on the ground, the injury could have been much worse. Just because he won the ball, doesn't mean it wasn't violent.

The decision turned the game, no doubt. It gave Palace the impetus to play and the space to exploit.

Palace had Gayle sent off for a second yellow card in the club's first encounter with West Ham this season, a decision that was softer than the one made in this fixture. It was a decision that allowed West Ham to push on.

Consider the balance redressed.

Gayle's time to shine

Has the Emmanuel Adebayor experiment worked? Despite suggesting he wouldn't take an international call-up in order to focus on Palace, it was disappointing to learn that he did in fact play for Togo and that he subsequently suffered an injury. With Adebayor's injury comes an opportunity for Dwight Gayle.

It's obvious that Palace need to score more goals. There can be only one conclusion - to play Gayle and Connor Wickham together against Norwich.

Alan Pardew keeps saying that Gayle is Palace's best finisher. He added yesterday that he has bulked up, looks fitter and is stronger. If he can't stake a claim for the starting spot in the side now, it might be time to move him on in the summer.

The Canaries have had quite a turnaround in recent weeks. But as their result against Newcastle United showed, they will concede goals. If Palace are going to push away from the relegation fight, there needs to be a focus on scoring goals.

Gayle's finish at West Ham showed the qualities that we know he's capable of. Opportune, sharp and incisive. A Gayle and Wickham partnership might just see the goals scored to keep Palace up.

On a wing and a prayer

There are only three certainties in life; death, taxes and Yannick Bolasie is a winger. Alan Pardew's hand has been forced by injuries to his first choice strikers Connor Wickham and Emmanuel Adebayor but yet again decided to go with Bolasie up front in his own.

 

And yet again it didn't work. Yannick never look comfortable up front on his own and this game was no different. But when he was moved out wide in the second half he absolutely terrorised Hammers left-back Aaron Cresswell. It's a no brainier; Bolasie is far more of a threat for Palace out wide and is wasted in the middle.

 

He may not really fancy Gayle or Fraizer Campbell but Pardew will find his team much more balanced with one of those two up front.

What has Martin Kelly got to do to get a place in this Palace team? Both full-backs Joel Ward and Pape Soaure are really struggling for form and Kelly has never let the Eagles down when picked at either position.

 

Yes he prefers centre-back but he won't get much of a chance in front of Dann or Delaney, at least for the rest of this season. Ward and Souare again had less than impressive performances and again Palace failed to keep a clean sheet. They haven't don't that in the league all year.

It's sometimes easy to forget what an influence some players have on team until they are absent. Jason Puncheon hadn't been having a fantastic season up until he got injured in early February but he's been missed since.

 

And his return against West Ham proved this as for the first time in a while Palace looked more confident on the ball in the middle and more of a threat going forward. That was down to Punch who was arguably Man of the Match.

 

He also cares; one moment where he chased down a loose ball and got in a block before visibly geeing up his teammates was lapped up by the away fans. We love a bit of good old fashioned passion and Punch has that in abundance.