Football. Bloody hell. Palace came within minutes of their first league win in months - but a fluke/wonder goal by Fabio Borini put an end to those hopes. Nevertheless, there were a few talking points to consider. Here are five. 

This is a team sport

OK, Wayne Hennessey wasn't prepared for that shot -- how many goalkeepers actually would have been? How many goalkeepers would have assumed that Martin Kelly would get tight? That a Bakary Sako might track back? That Joe Ledley, instead of pointing at Borini, might actually do the work himself and help Kelly out?

This was a Sam Allardyce side - you would have assumed that Borini might knock it high into the area - but he didn't. 
Instead, all of the issues - Kelly not getting tighter, Ledley not closing him down himself, Sako not tracking back at all, combined to allow the striker to take an audacious shot past an unprepared Hennessey. This is a team sport and the team has to take the blame - its no good making Hennessey the scapegoat for what was a team failing.

Bolasie isn't fit yet

20-minutes into the first half, you could tell that Yannick Bolasie was struggling with the pace of the game. After two and a half months out through injury, you can excuse it.

Professional football is ruthless. These players are at the peak of their fitness at all times, and if you're not, it shows. Bolasie did a lot of preparation in the run up to his return to the side, with the club and with a personal trainer, but it shows that you can't fully prepare for the hard work needed when on the pitch.

Give it another game or two and we'll see the influence that we know he has. Pace is a huge part of his game and once that burst of energy isn't laboured by a lack of sharpness, we'll see a greater return.

There is no shame in defending a lead

One of the frustrations in the closing stages of the game came as a result of the lack of defensive substitutes to shore up what would be a difficult 15 minutes of football. If Alan Pardew were to take some blame for last night's late equaliser, it's that Palace made like-for-like substitutions at a point where a defender might have made more sense.

Bringing on Bakary Sako would have given the player a lift, but he was ineffective in taking pressure off the back four, just as Sunderland started to turn the screw.

Palace aren't yet desperate for a win. But have no doubt, the monkey on the squad's back will continue to get more notable as the games go on. Defending the lead might not have given Sunderland the space to build up to that goal. Our side is frail and a little defensive reinforcement might have given the squad the tools needed to come away with three points.

Bypassed Cabaye can't just stroll around

It's likely that Yohan Cabaye is Palace's most well-paid player. He was a record signing in the summer and, with that fee and wage comes an equally hefty level of expectation. When Palace were flying high, Cabaye was a core element of that success, central to Palace's dynamic attacking play.

Against Sunderland, Cabaye seemed to be a passenger for most of the game. Much of it wasn't his fault. He would find decent positions, only for his teammates to lump the ball up to Wickham for prolonged periods of the game.  It's not easy being a midfielder when your role in the team is skipped.

However, with a second half team talk, Palace seemed more intent on playing the ball. At this point, you expect Cabaye to make himself busy - to offer himself up to teammates as an option. Go chase, harry, bully and manipulate opponents to get the ball. Instead, in one notable instance, Cabaye lost possession, threw his hands up in a huff, and walked back as Sunderland players surged past him.

It's been a tough two months for Yohan. He's been the victim of rotational fouling - intentionally targeted by teams for rough treatment by taking turns to foul him  - but we expect him to give it a good go. If he doesn't, and instead shows petulance like he did in the second half, he'd be better served watching from the sidelines.

Wickham has the potential to be great

It's true. Connor Wickham has the potential; he must now realise it. We've seen some cracking goals from the young striker - signed for £9m from Sunderland - in the last week. Months of hard work are finally paying off for him and it's great to see.

The real positive however wasn't just how well he took the goals, but how well he did everything else. The goals will take the headlines but the rest of his performance was worthy of greater praise. He led the line with determination, held the ball up with strength and intent, and created opportunities for team mates.

Questions were asked about the decision to let Glenn Murray go in favour of Wickham. At the time, it seemed like a strange decision to make -- and as the team suffered a chronic lack of a strikeforce, it was right to ponder whether the timing was right. But the goals we're now seeing, and the hard work that Wickham is putting in to help the team out, suggests it might have been the right long-term move to make. It just came half a season too soon.

At just 22 years old, Wickham has time on his side. Palace should nurture that talent. A prolonged run in the side and the infectious effect of scoring a goal or four will mean one thing. He can only get better. 

Ah, typical Palace. An emphatic win against Tottenham followed by a calamitous first half against West Brom. What a mess. Anyway, here are Robert Sutherland's five talking points from Saturday's defeat. 

1. What was that first half about?

Whether it's a lack of confidence or a lack of organisation, that first half performance was one of the worst in the Premier League since Palace were defeated by Fulham under Ian Holloway.

Credit has to go to Tony Pulis (through gritted teeth) for the clinical way in which his side dismantled Palace's brittle defence with just a series of quick, incisive passes. Sure, some of the underlying issue is psychological, but the lack of organisation and positioning - after such a capable performance  Tottenham - is difficult to fathom.

The second half - in which Palace showed greater attacking intent and drive - was still somewhat maligned by the potential for defensive calamity. Despite the goals and obvious change in attitude, it didn't make up for what was a destructive 45 minute spell.

2. Pardew's hero status doesn't make him infallible

It's difficult having a manager in charge who was, as a player, a hero at the club. You make exceptions for him that you wouldn't for others. You accept that bad runs will happen and endlessly hope that they'll come to an end.

Palace fans on the whole accept that this has been a difficult spell for Alan Pardew - in part because of the circumstances, in part because of the 32-point safety net already in place, and in part because of the hero status he holds. Would Palace fans have accepted similar runs of form from the likes of Neil Warnock or Holloway?

For all the talk of confidence, or psychological frailty in the team, the manager is paid to make decisions which can positively impact on the side. At the moment, that isn't happening.

3. Is this the Wickham we had hoped for?

Connor Wickham took Alan Pardew's decision to persist with him over Emanuel Adebayor as a vote of confidence, and repaid that faith with two well taken goals.

While the first came thanks to idiotic defending from Jonas Olsson, it took strength, pace, persistence and fearlessness to get himself into that position. The second goal was a beautifully taken strike - the likes of which we've not seen from the £9m signing.

His second half performance against Tottenham was impressive also. For someone that tall and broad-shouldered, his pace comes as a bit of a surprise. He has a burst of speed which can surprise defenders.

Wickham's biggest problem has been the stop-start beginning to his Palace career. He started to make a telling contribution until he got injured at Chelsea. Then at Stoke. And then when he finally returned to the side again, he was suspended for an idiotic elbow on Jan Verthongen. A proper run of games should see more returns. The goals against West Brom showed ability. Now he must put it into regular practice.

4. A season of costly referee errors has hurt us

John Moss joins a long list of referees who have ignored obvious infringements by the opposition to Palace's detriment. Of course, the argument is that these things level themselves out - but they won't make up for the missed opportunities Palace had to pull the game against West Brom level. Both penalty decision were blatantly obvious - and came at a crucial stage of the game.

It's difficult to remember a season where referees have made as many mistakes as in this one. Whether it's Lee Mason refusing to send off Francis Coquelin in the Arsenal match at the start of the season, Michael Oliver failing to punish Bournemouth for Harry Arter's tackle on Zaha, Mark Clattenburg failing to even award a free kick for Stephen Ireland's assault on Yohan Cabaye, or the ridiculous lack of bookings in matches against Swansea and Watford, these are just a few of the incidents which have impacted on our ability to win games.

Of course, the key to winning is also making sure that our side play as well as they can. But when Palace do that, and don't get the decisions that could make a difference, it make the challenge all the more difficult.

5. Yannick the saviour has to start

It seemed, for the first few minutes of Yannick Bolasie's introduction at The Hawthorns, that there was only one player with the enthusiasm  to win the game. That enthusiasm, that ability to lead by example, was infectious. It changed Palace's approach entirely. It gave the players around him a focal point.

We talk about the need for balance in the side. Bolasie provides it. He has to start against Sunderland - to provide Palace with the impetus to go for a win from the start.

Palace secured a place in the FA Cup quarter-finals for the first time in 21 years with a susprise win over Tottenham.

Even more surprising was the match-winner; Martin Kelly grabbed his first ever Eagles goal right on half-time to win it.

But what did we gather from the result? Here's 5 things we learned at White Hart Lane...

1) She wore a yellow ribbon...

Forget the media spiel about the FA Cup losing its magic. This was a roaring, pulsating, invigorating, brilliantly energetic cup tie filled to the brim with action. And Palace persevered.

The FA Cup is still the greatest club competition in football. From its early beginnings in the qualifying rounds - which begins in August - to the latter rounds of the competition, it's a challenge of endurance, of chance and of luck. But it's beautiful and for most football fans unspoilt by the riches of billionaire owners or millionaire squads, it's still a competition you long to win. An FA Cup win would mean the world to us.

2) Kelly took his chance

Martin Kelly probably didn't expect to feature for Palace against Spurs prior to last week's defeat to Watford. Months of being a substitute or unselected must have left their mark on the defender - watching on with frustration as Palace's defence sometimes toiled with the pressure of winless league performances - but you couldn't see it in his display against Spurs.

Against the North London side's strong attacking lineup, Kelly showed composure, tenacity and conviction throughout the match. He offered himself as an option in attack to Zaha, and when the chance fell to him late in the first half, he took it brilliantly.

It's also worth praising Joel Ward for the work he did on the left. Despite being predominantly right footed, Ward did a decent job in the face of endless pressure.

3) Mutch about Balance

Jordon Mutch has found it difficult at Palace. A jack of many trades, he's struggled to master a specific role at the club. Is he a defensive midfielder? A box-to-box player? An attacking mid? A winger? He's played all of these roles for Palace with mixed results and to mixed reactions from the terraces.

It's typical then that, just as Yannick Bolasie finally looks to be nearing fitness again, Mutch seems to have found a position that might work for him - on the wing. Palace have struggled to find the square peg to fill the round void that Bolasie's injury left behind - but in Mutch, there seems to be a modicum of balance to the side again.

Mutch isn't a winger. But his work rate, his flashes of skill and his positional awareness meant that he suited a role that Chung Yong Lee didn't. Against Spurs, he showed intent both defensively and in attack. Is it time for Palace fans to cut him some slack and see what he can do in a more central role?

4) Adebayor and Wickham could work together

There's clearly still a rustiness to Emanuel Adebayor's game. His substitution midway through the second half came at a point where the striker had run himself into the ground. It wasn't a classic performance - he still needs to hone that first touch and get himself to a point where he can last a full 90 minutes and make a more critical contribution - but his experience, and the influence that can have, is showing.

One player that looks to already have gained from this is Connor Wickham. The striker, who like all other Palace attackers has struggled to find the net, put in a performance more befitting of a centre-forward. He was more direct, more willing to take a touch and did all the dirty work, too. There were opportunities in the second half where, with a little more composure, he might have forced a save or even set up a goal -- but he did well to get himself into those positions. Wickham has the ability, but for much of this season he's looked a little timid in attack. Not so yesterday.

It wasn't a typical strike partnership, but the two showed they can play together. With improved service from the wings thanks to Yannick Bolasie's return, we might still see some more goals from our strikers this season.

5) Wilf does the dirty work

For all the talk of Wilfried Zaha carrying our attacking presence on his shoulders for the past month and a half, his defensive game deserves as much credit, too. Against Spurs, in the face of a constant onslaught from Danny Rose and Heung-Min Son, Wilf went beyond the call of duty in providing defensive cover throughout the match.

In a showing of his limitless energy, he would often commit to a tackle then immediately offer himself as an attacking option to pass to. He has made huge strides this season in terms of maturity - the pass to Kelly for the goal was perfectly timed and weighted - and his performances are showing just how capable he is.

Wilf deserves an England call-up. The likelihood is that he won't get one - but with performances like yesterday's - where he showed a willingness to do the dirty work - there will surely be greater pressure on Roy Hodgson to consider him?