We know central defenders love a sliding tackle, but to score a goal from one? That is a whole new level of dedication to the art of the slide from Crystal Palace’s Joachim Andersen.

It was in the 76th minute when Andersen played a one-two with Jordan Ayew. It looked for the world like Andersen was driving down a cul-de-sac. There was no beating Brentford goalkeeper Mark Flekken from here, no getting to the ball before Nathan Collins.

Yet Andersen, on his 100th appearance in the Premier League, slid and scored. It was as strange as Kevin Schade’s opener was stylish.

Flekken had enjoyed an excellent game up until this moment. His saves were enough to make Brentford fans think that maybe, just maybe, they will not miss David Raya following his transfer to Arsenal, after all. Then the ball squirmed under Flekken’s body, seemingly in slow motion.

‘It wasn’t a classic,’ Roy Hodgson said of his team’s equaliser. ‘They scored a classic: a fantastic cross-field pass, lovely ball control, beat the full back, cut inside, get your shot away before the block comes in and put it right into the far corner. That’s your Match of the Day moment. I didn’t get one of those. But I got a goal and a point and that’s all that matters to me.’ 

Perhaps this result was inevitable. Brentford and Palace's fans know this is a cursed fixture. Four times they had faced each other in the Premier League and every single outing had ended in a draw. We can now make that five for five thanks to Andersen’s unusual equaliser.

‘It was a little irritating,’ Brentford boss Thomas Frank said. ‘This was a game we should have won.’

Ivan Toney signed a new contract this week. Not with Brentford, but with CAA Stellar, the renowned agency headed up by Jonathan Barnett. Toney’s switching of agents has fuelled speculation he will return from his suspension in January and immediately leave, with Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham known to be interested in the 27-year-old Englishman.

Yet life without Toney has not been so bad. Brentford started the season with a 2-2 draw against Tottenham and a 3-0 win at Fulham, with Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa scoring in each of those outings. Frank had been waiting for Schade to get in on the act, too.

Schade joined Brentford on loan in January in a move which was made permanently for a club-record £22million in June. The 21-year-old Germany winger did not score last season, but at long last, 18 minutes into this match, he got his first goal for the club.

Christian Norgaard’s cross-field ball to the left wing was collected by Schade, who charged directly at Joel Ward, Palace’s retreating right back. Schade had Ward on toast, cutting inside before curling right-footed into the far corner. Brentford’s 1-0 lead was well deserved.

Flashes of lightning could be seen above the Brentford Community Stadium but on the pitch, Eberechi Eze was the only one providing any electricity for the visitors.

It is easy to see why clubs, including Chelsea and Manchester City, are so fond of this 25-year-old. Eze’s dancing with the ball led to a chance for Odsonne Edouard, who ought to have done better. Eze had a few attempts on goal himself, though none too troubling for Flekken.

Before the break, Brentford almost scored again when Collins’ header dropped on the wrong side of the post. Hodgson, whose suit was sodden thanks to the downpour, needed to have stern words at half-time. Otherwise another defeat was incoming.

Ward was having a stinker against Schade, whose confidence was growing. Funny what a first goal in 21 Premier League games can do for you.

Yet after an hour, Palace started to search for their equaliser. Edouard saw his 25-yard free-kick tipped over by Flekken, who was about to get busy in Brentford’s goal. Eze's corner was headed down by Jefferson Lerma but Flekken made an instinctive stop. Ayew raced to the rebound – and was only a yard out – but Flekken saved again.

Brentford’s supporters gave him a standing ovation. They may have sold Raya to Arsenal – on loan with a £30m option to buy – but Flekken was doing himself no harm.

Until the 76th minute, that is, when Palace scored their surprise equaliser. Andersen played a pass into Ayew, who gave him it back. Andersen’s touch was heavy and he slid to the ball, somehow sending it under Flekken for 1-1.