Those players tonight didn’t care about the board. The first half was competent and encouraging. They came out for the second and gave Palace the initiative.
As I remember it plastic coated balls were introduced in the mid sixties. We certainly used them at university in 1968.
My dad played amateur football in the Athenian and Isthmian Leagues and he told me that if the ball was wet he refused to head it. He also advised me not to head the ball when I played. I ignored his advice but to be honest I probably missed more than I headed.
Fortunately we have moved on from those days. This is a very sensible precaution.
I saw Jeff Astle's name mentioned last night on a quiz. His case is a timely reminder.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Astle#Retirement,_death_and_legacy
Don’t rewrite history. That was a high-speed dipping cross that was whipped in and may have ended up inside the box at the far post but it’s trajectory was high enough that I can’t think of any keeper that would have got to it.