On this day: Premier League Crystal Palace play Hong Kong friendly in 1995 – but Princess Di went to the tennis
- Premier League side were battling relegation when mixture of youth players and reserves made a 72-hour round trip to face Happy Valley. The Eagles could have encountered Manchester United’s Eric Cantona but faced Liverpool legends Jan Molby, Nigel Clough and Kevin Sheedy.
Some 25 years ago this April, Crystal Palace made one of the weirdest midseason trips to Hong Kong.
They made a 72-hour round trip to play a game in the international break – despite a fixture pile-up after reaching the semi-finals of the League and FA Cup and being involved in a relegation dogfight.
The trip had been celebrated as a coup, at least initially.
“In the opening weeks of 1995, the Eagles were invited to participate in a prestigious friendly game against Happy Valley, traditionally one of Hong Kong’s most successful sides, after chairman Ron Noades had beaten off competition from a host of Premier League teams including Aston Villa, Manchester City, Coventry City and Southampton to land the all-expenses paid trip in April.”
That was how the Crystal Palace website looked back on the trip as they were about to return to Hong Kong to play in the 2017 Premier League Asia Trophy.
