After Taylor's first, the Blues did, however, pull two goals back to bring the game level at 2-2. And then came Taylor’s free-kick.
Palace were awarded a dead ball just outside the Chelsea box and, having played the standout game of his career, only one man could ever step-up to strike it.
Dave Swindlehurst burst towards the spot-kick, but he knew the score. The forward dummied a shot and ran past the ball, leaving Taylor to cooly strike home and launch the Eagles into the FA Cup quarter final, where he would assist Alan Whittle’s solitary effort to secure Palace’s first-ever Cup semi final.
“When we played Leeds, Dave Swindlehurst had an almighty long shot from the exact same position as our free-kick against Chelsea," Taylor recalled.
"I said to myself: ‘They will think he’ll hit it again’. I said to Swindy: ‘Do me a favour, please just run over it’. I’m sure Chelsea will have been thinking about how powerful he was, and then it was a different kind of free-kick."
Perhaps more memorable than Taylor’s masterclass that day, though, was Allison lifting three fingers to the Chelsea fans - famously forewarning them of the score.
#### **2004 - Johnson scores three as Palace romp to Valentine’s victory**
Andrew Johnson was in the form of his life as Stoke City travelled to Selhurst Park in 2004. So when he netted after just five minutes against the Potters, those inside SE25 may well have envisioned a busy afternoon.
Sure enough, the visiting John Eustace bagged barely a minute later and the supporters’ expectations were vindicated, with Palace and Stoke going on to bag seven more times between them.