GLENN MURRAY says it was good to get back on the goal trail again on Saturday, and just in time for the play-offs.
The Eagles striker netted his 30th league goal of the season in the 3-2 victory against Peterborough United at Selhurst Park, making him the league's top scorer - one goal ahead of Blackburn Rovers' Jordan Rhodes.
The 29-year-old's penalty was a timely strike, coming just ahead of the play-offs, which pit Murray and his team-mates against his former side - the Eagles' fierce rivals from down the A23, Brighton & Hove Albion.
And Murray said it was important for the Eagles to get the win going into the end of season showdown, while he said that, personally, he was pleased to find the net again after a barren run of eight games without a goal.
He said: "It was good to get back on the scoresheet.
"It is the same for any striker when you go through a drought, you want to get that first goal and go on a run again."
The Eagles star said Palace would take confidence from the final day victory against the Posh into the play-offs, adding that it was good for the team to come through the game.
"It was a topsy-turvy game and I think it was excellent for the neutrals to watch, even if wasn't for us," he said.
"It was important though for us to get the win having been on a bit of a bad run and it was nice to get back to winning ways going into the play-offs."
Meanwhile, Murray was full of praise for Palace captain Mile Jedinak, who pipped him to the Crystal Palace Player of the Year award at the club's awards night yesterday (Tuesday).
He said: "He thoroughly deserved to win the award.
"He is the heartbeat of the team, the driving force and he has been so consistent."
But Murray did not leave empty-handed, winning the Vice President's choice for Player of the Year and the Goal of the Year trophy for his stunning strike against Middlesbrough.
Murray also took his place in the newly-founded Palace 30 Club alongside Andrew Johnson, Ian Wright, Johnny Byrne, Perry Cherrett, Talbert Dawes and Peter Simpson.
And he will be hoping to be celebrating again at Wembley on May 27.

ONE of the joys of pregnancy is that once the baby is done with you, your body is never quite the same again. No matter how much a women tries, there will always be something a bit different. Some ladies might be lucky and just carry an extra few pounds. Some are left with slightly lower boobies. Neither are that bad in the big scheme of things. A badge of motherhood some might say.

The less lucky ones get a whole combination of mummy side effects. Sadly for me, I fall under this category.

With my first pregnancy there were stretch marks. Beautiful.

The second brought not so pretty piles. Lovely.

Third time round and definitely not third time lucky, I had bleeding gums the whole way through.

Then, as a generous gesture from Mother Nature herself, I gained a whole handful of post birth gifts for good measure. I didn't get bags under my eyes, I got matching luggage. Suddenly the odd white strand of hair turned into greys galore and to top it off, I have gained rubbish, achy, poorly teeth. Fab.

I blame the children.

Yep. It seems that my little peas have sucked out every last drop of calcium and goodness from my gnashers and have left me with nothing but useless brittle fangs and endless visits to my least favourite person ever. Mr Dentist.

Mr Dentist and I have never been too close. As a child I ate more apples than any small person should healthily consume to prevent having to visit that tooth doctor of doom. Little did I realise I probably did more harm than good with that apple addiction.

My fear of dental treatment is totally irrational and unfounded but I would honestly rather stick pins in my eyes than let anyone poke around my gums. It's just not normal.

The Man thinks that my fear all stems from my inability to stay quiet. Not being able to talk when someone is tinkering with my teeth may well be one reason but I reminded him that it is less about the tinkering, more about the horrible needles that they like to stick in your gob. For the greater good of course. Ha! No thanks.

So anyway, something wasn't right, my jaw had been feeling odd and I hadn't even been talking on the phone that long. After three days of achy face, I bite the bullet and book an appointment.

If it wasn't for the fact I had considered taking a bat to my face the previous night I would have made an excuse or ran away. Before I know it Mr Dentist is elbow deep in my mouth having a tinker. After a few minutes he informs me it is safe to close my mouth. Phew, no injections! I find some confidence and laugh away my nerves. I even say out load how silly I was to worry.

Mr Dentist does not share my sense of humour.

"Root canal or extraction" he suggests. I'm booked in for a week's time.

With a pitying smile he blames infection.

With a silent sob I blame the apples of my eye.

STARBUCKS may have been in the news for all the wrong reasons lately, but last week the company proved its community side by sprucing up a primary school.

Volunteers from the global chain, recently making headlines over its tax affairs, joined volunteers from Oasis UK and students from Oasis Academy Coulsdon to help spruce up the gardens and build an outdoor stage at Oasis Academy Byron, in St David's, Coulsdon.

It marked the company's third annual 'Global Month of Service,' which last year saw 230,000 hours of community service undertaken worldwide in the month, the firm said.

A spokesman added: "The aim of this project [at Byron] is to assist in making improvements to the school's surrounding area so that the children can learn each day in a more inspiring, fun, and creative environment.

"Our partners' connection to and involvement in the neighbourhoods we serve has always been a company tradition."

LAWRENCE OKOYE is ready to take it slow to fulfil his NFL dreams after agreeing to join the San Francisco 49ers.

The 21-year-old missed out on selection in the NFL draft last week, but once it had been completed, he was offered a free-agent deal by 49ers - one of the most recognisable names in the sport.

They were this year's Super Bowl runners-up and have taken a punt on the British discus record-holder, who has never played a game of American football in his life.

The 6ft 6in former Whitgift School pupil knows he has a lot to learn, but is certain he has picked the right club to match his ambitions.

"There's a huge amount to pick up," said Okoye. "I've learnt as much about the game as I can without actually playing it but I'm still an outsider looking in.

"But they've made it clear that I shouldn't stress and that they're going to teach me everything from scratch. It will be similar to the journey I had learning the discus with my coach John Hillier.

"I started from the basics such as how to hold a discus and how to flick it off your fingers and I literally moved up from level one to level 100. I plan on doing the same thing with football."

Okoye, who was a promising schoolboy rugby player, impressed in non-contract trials in Atlanta and Dallas to earn his deal with the 49ers.

"It's amazing for me," he added. "Obviously, I'm absolutely delighted about how things have turned out and I think the 49ers are the best fit in the league for what I'm trying to do.

"They have the same vision as me and this could be a great success story as both parties really want this to work."

Okoye's deal has not been officially disclosed, but his management company have said that it is a "long-term commitment" from the club in the Croydon star.

And an NFL spokesman confirmed that he can expect to earn around £90,000 in his time with the practice squad, rising to £260,000 if he makes the senior roster.

49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh said of Okoye: "He's just an Adonis, just a great physical specimen of a man. I can think of some other adjectives. Our Creator created a beautiful man."

Okoye's progress will be overseen by the 49ers' defensive line coach, Jim Tomsula, who has a background in teaching players with little American football experience following a spell as head coach of Rhein Fire in the now defunct NFL Europe.

UK Athletics head coach Peter Eriksson said: "It's a tremendous loss to the discus but we wish him well in his new pursuit and look forward to seeing him back in the sport sometime in the future."

COUNCILS like Croydon have been urged to support small businesses by steering more contracts their way.

The "keep it local" message was delivered by John Walker, former national chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) to a question time session attended by around 100 local businesspeople last Thursday (April 25). The meeting at the Braithwaite Hall, in Katharine Street, was organised by the FSB in conjunction with the Institute of Directors, business support organisation Growth Accelerator, and Croydon Council.

Mr Walker said there was definite need for local councils to give more consideration to providing business for smaller local firms, rather than simply going to large companies.

He said: "Councils should be helping to keep the money flowing around the local economy rather than it being siphoned to other parts of the country or even abroad.

"Councils are spending a lot of our money; let's keep it in the local community."

Cllr Vidhi Mohan, the council's cabinet member for communities and economic development said in awarding contracts, the council was often governed by rules from the European Union.

He said: "Some of our contracts like street cleaning are large value and there is need for large companies to run them."

But, he added, the council was keen to support local businesses where possible and had introduced an element of "social value" into the procurement procedure.

Commitment to adding to social benefits to their contracts, such as employing local people or offering training, can help a local smaller firm in the bidding stakes.

Cllr Mohan told the meeting he believed the council's main role in supporting local businesses was by acting as a facilitator.

He said: "We are helping create a partnership bringing businesses and funders together so there is an atmosphere where businesses can grow and thrive."

This work includes plans to set up, with support from London mayor Boris Johnson, an innovation centre which would provide start-up businesses with office space and support services.

IN 2010, Croydon geologist Dave Rutherford decided to set up a charity that would help people in a small Ugandan village become self-sufficient.

Three years later, the Grace Children's Village project has gone from strength to strength and is now providing schooling for 160 children, work for 21 adults and helping to educate local farmers in the village of Nyamiyaga.

With the help of Ugandan co-founder David Bakeine, a school was opened in 2010, a pig-breeding programme has been launched as well as HIV testing for students, and now Croydon children are getting involved in fundraising.

In a bid to raise money for Grace Children's Village, Mr Rutherford began the Million Challenge, which tasks children and adults to get sponsorship to do 1,000 star jumps in 2013.

Croydon High School and Skillz Football Coaching are among the groups that have got involved and Mr Rutherford, who lives in East Croydon with his family, now believes they will easily pass one million star jumps, which will help to fund a new multi-purpose vehicle for the village.

He said: "I met the co-founder David Bakeine when I was working on a rhino project in Uganda in 2005. We started a campaign to help Ugandans during Christmas and then slowly we started helping children through the whole year. A lot of people tell me how surprised they are at how successful we have become in such a short amount of time, but you can always do more.

"I have a day job in Islington and then I spend some time with my kids, then start work on the project at about 9.30pm each day; as long as I have five hours' sleep I'm fine.

"Hopefully we can raise the £8,000 needed for the new vehicle, which will be used to transport harvests, bring children safely to the school, and generate income for the village through vehicle hire to local tourists."

Dave decided to get Croydon children involved in spreading the word and, thanks to some help from Skillz Coaching, children as young as two are doing their starjumps for charity.

Skills Coaching founder Ashley Thomas said it was a great way to get children involved in the project.

He added: "A little ten-year-old girl gave £60 towards the charity and I explained to her that not only did she buy a pig for a family, but she had also given a man a job farming with that money too. Her face just lit up."

For more information on the challenge and the project, visit www.gracechildrensvillage.org or www.justgiving.com/millionchallenge2013

CUSTOMERS across Croydon will suffer when Royal Mail moves its main delivery office out of the town centre, postal workers claim.

A union has suggested that residents in outlying areas such as Norbury, New Addington and Sanderstead will find it hard to get to its new centre at the Wandle Park trading estate to collect parcels and items of postage if they miss home deliveries.

But Royal Mail has denied claims that its move to Factory Lane will force residents into long, inconvenient journeys, saying there are alternative ways of getting post delivered.

This may include more packages being left with neighbours or arrangements for another delivery at a time convenient to customers.

Royal Mail has submitted plans to Croydon Council to demolish the existing delivery office in Addiscombe Road and replace it with a new building comprising 240 flats and 1,800sqm of retail space.

Alan Tate, political officer of the Communications Workers Union, said staff in Croydon accepted a move would happen after detailed negotiations over facilities at the new building were ironed out.

However, he feared the move would bring a range of problems for customers and residents living near the new office.

Mr Tate said: "So far there has been only one meeting between us and Royal Mail about the changes and we believe they are rushing things through in preparation for privatisation of the post office.

"At present it is easy for people to collect undelivered items of post from Addiscombe Road because the office is well-served by public transport."

Mr Tate said the 300 workers were also concerned about how they would get to work with a lack of public transport or parking at Factory Lane.

A Royal Mail statement issued this week said: "This planned relocation and upgrade of our delivery office in Croydon will provide a better working environment for our people.

"We do not expect there will be any impact to the services we provide to our customers in Croydon.

"Almost no other company has daily contact with its customers in the way Royal Mail does and we wish to continue providing consistent and high-quality services to our customers in the area."

MIKE MAHER says Redhill will no longer be a "sleeping giant" after winning promotion to the Ryman League Division One South.

The Reds sealed their rise from the Sussex County League Division One with a 2-0 win at rivals East Preston on Saturday, with the boss admitting planning has already begun for a challenge at step four next season.

And he says the club is excited about the prospect of local derbies with Merstham, Chipstead and Three Bridges.

He said: "The club has been a sleeping giant really as we are all set up for the Ryman South with great facilities.

"We have regularly got crowds of more than 100 and I understand that recently we did that for three games in a row for the first time in 20 years.

"But now we can look forward to everything going up a level, from the grounds we go to, to the refereeing and the professionalism.

"Plus we have all the local derbies which will be great and we look forward to playing the likes of Merstham, Three Bridges and Carshalton Athletic."

However, Maher says Redhill will not just be going into the league to enjoy the ride, or just make up the numbers.

He said: "I see no reason why next season we can't challenge for the play-offs.

"We don't want to be in a relegation scrap and we want to be competitive, which I am sure we will be. The big thing is momentum and we will have that - we have only lost twice since December 18, which says a lot about how well we have done."

Maher added that while it would be necessary to make a few additions to the squad, he was keen to maintain the good feeling at the club.

"We will look to add four or five players to the squad, but I am not going to go up and make wholesale changes. We have a good squad with players who have experience at a higher level and we have the quality to play there.

"We also have a good bond between the group at the moment and we don't want to lose that, anyone who comes in will have to fit in to that."

Meanwhile, Maher paid tribute to the players, backroom staff and board for "making his job easier" this season.

He said: "I want to thank everyone at the club for helping us get to where we are.

"Everyone from the board and committee to the players and my backroom team have been fantastic in supporting me and it has been a great end to the season for us."

SURREY may still be winless in the County Championship but they got their one-day campaign off to a great start with a comprehensive nine-wicket win over reigning YB40 champions Hampshire at the Oval on Monday.

The Royals won the toss and decided to bat first, but with Zafar Ansari taking 4-46, his best figures in limited overs cricket, Hampshire finished on 228.

Surrey skipper Graeme Smith shrugged off his early season disappointments and put on a good partnership with Steven Davies.

The pair started the chase in emphatic style and set a marker down going at ten an over. Both batsmen matched each other run for run and the Hampshire bowlers could not keep them quiet. Davies played gracefully and Smith was powerful as they put the visitors under pressure.

They took Surrey past 150 in the 19th over until Smith was caught off the bowling of Dawson on 74 to leave Surrey 162-1.

However, Davies carried on his blistering performance alongside Vikram Solanki, eventually amassing a career best of 127 not out, with Solanki on 22 not out.

And while it was not a win for Surrey in the County Championship this week against Middlesex, they are also still unbeaten as Smith's men racked up their third draw of the season.

Opener Rory Burns got the visitors off to a superb start with a patient 114 runs from the first innings but partner Smith was dismissed for a duck; caught by Dawid Malan off the bowling of Tim Murtagh.

Arun Harinath (61) and Solanki (43) played their part well as Surrey were all out for 338.

Jade Dernbach (3-59) led the way with some disciplined bowling as Middlesex were all out for 166 in their first innings.

However, Surrey were undone by Australian Chris Rogers in Middlesex's second innings as the skipper notched up a double century, finishing on 214 alongside Sam Robson's 129.

Despite both Burns and Harinath collecting their first first-class wickets, Middlesex finally declared on a massive 514-8.

All the visitors were left with was time for some batting practice, although captain Smith came out of his recent run of bad scores with 48 of his side's second innings total of 85-1.

Surrey are now seventh in the table on 25 points.

GARY KEEDY has warned young cricketers to start considering sooner rather than later what they are going to do after their sporting career ends.

Keedy has spent the last six years studying to become a physiotherapist, and as well as giving him an occupation when his career ends, the 38-year-old believes he is fitter than ever thanks to a better understanding of the human body.

"I qualified about a month ago and I'm just slowly getting together all my certificates, five-and-a-half years it has taken me," Keedy said.

"But in terms of my own playing career it is something that has helped me understand my body a little bit more.

"I've talked about age being a barrier, but at 38 I feel fitter and stronger than I did at 28.

"The sports medicine side of cricket is a lot more advanced than it has ever been and I want to use that to my advantage and play certainly well into my 40s."

And Keedy, who spent 17 years at Lancashire, has called on young cricketers to think about their future beyond cricket – admitting his career has flown by.

"I think any young cricketers now should be thinking about what they want to do when they finish because, believe me, ten years has just flown," Keedy said.

"All of a sudden you are in a position where you are wondering what you are going to do if you aren't playing cricket.

"It has taken me seven years; I did two years at Open University, and it has put me in a position to at least be ready.

"I want to work in sport, as many physiotherapists do, and having 20 years already in professional sport I would like to think I have a bit of a head-start."

However, he is not moving into full-time physiotherapy just yet and the experienced bowler, who joined Surrey from Lancashire this summer, insists the Kia Oval was the only place he wanted to go.

"My circumstances changed last year, I wasn't playing and I want to play as much cricket as I can at the end of my career. I didn't think twice about coming," Keedy said.

"When I first made the decision to ask Lancashire if I could leave, Surrey was it, I didn't speak to anyone else, Surrey was the club."

NEVER mind the 114 runs, the highlight of the Middlesex game for me was my first first-class wicket.

I was really happy with my performance against Middlesex, although far more people congratulated me on the wicket than my century. My team-mates were amused by the wicket as well.

I've done a bit of bowling in the past for Banstead when they've been short, and I do practice bowling in training with Surrey, but I haven't done that much in a game before but the skipper suggested I have a go. Maybe now I've got my first wicket they will let me have a go again.

I do enjoy bowling but it's probably because I don't do it that often. I couldn't imagine doing it all the time; bowling just isn't nice. It makes your arms and shoulders hurt, although that might be because I don't do it a lot. Batting is physically a lot nicer, and to me, less effort. I'd rather be squatting than having painful shoulders!

The only downside to the Middlesex game was that I still didn't get to spend a lot of time batting alongside Graeme Smith. At the moment it seems like we can't both do well at once. I did well in the first innings and he was out for a duck, and then as soon as I was out in the second innings I knew people were going to be asking me about it. It just hasn't happened yet but I'm confident it will fairly shortly.

On Bank Holiday Monday, Surrey played Hampshire in a one-day game but I didn't play. I've certainly played more four-day cricket than one-day, but I would like to play both, it is just getting the opportunity and then doing well. After all, Surrey have a good one-day side already.

People say you need to adapt your batting style to switch from four-day to one-day but I think it's more adapting to the situation than the format.

Playing for Banstead is a bit like playing the one-day format and I do that, so I think I'm good at adapting to the situation

I've played a few shorter format games for Surrey in the past and done okay as well, it is just adapting.

BANSTEAD driver Matt Flowers says the next round of the Ginetta GT5 Challenge "cannot come soon enough" after a positive showing at Rockingham over the Bank Holiday weekend.

The 24-year-old finished ninth, fifth and seventh in the three races at the Corby circuit to move him up to tenth in the Championship standings.

And having crashed out and missed two races on the first weekend at Oulton Park back in March, Flowers says he was pleased to secure three decent finishes this time around.

He said: "My main aim was to keep out of trouble and it was really encouraging to get three good finishes.

"It was good progress for me and going forward to Silverstone at the end of the month, I am confident that I can push on and maybe think about challenging for podiums."

The next round is on the Bank Holiday weekend at the end of the month, giving Flowers a three-week gap between races.

But he said the next round could not come soon enough after the encouraging performance at the weekend.

He said: "I am ready and raring to go."

In the World Touring Car Championships Tom Chilton finished seventh in both races at the Hungaroring circuit in Hungary.

The results see the Reigate man remain in fourth in the Drivers' Championship standings, one point behind third-place Rob Huff, who won the second race at the weekend.

Chilton will be back in action in Austria on the weekend of May 18-19.