keep him. After seven months away from the first team, he returned to training. Powell made his first appearance from injury on 14 May 2004, where he came on as a late substitute, in a 3–2 win over Sunderland. Powell then scored in the dying seconds of Palace's Play-off semi-final second-leg game, at Sunderland taking the score on the night to a 2–1 defeat, but the aggregate score to 4–4. Palace won on penalties and were promoted to the Premiership, following a play-off final win over West Ham. At the end of the 2003–04 season, Powell had made 15 appearances, scoring once in all competitions. In the 2004–05 season, however, Powell found himself dropping down the pecking order in the club's first team and having limited game time, only appearing three times in the League Cup. On 20 November 2004, he spent a month on loan to West Ham United. His debut came on 24 November 2004 against rivals' Millwall, where he played the whole game, in a 1–0 loss. In a follow up match against Watford, Powell scored his only goal for the club, in a 3–2 win. After the spell at West Ham United, Powell returned to his parent club, Crystal Palace. Upon returning to Crystal Palace, Powell made his first Premier League appearance, where he played the whole game, in a 2–0 win over Aston Villa on 3 January 2005. In a follow up match against Manchester City on 15 January 2005, he scored his first Premier League goal, in a 3–1 loss. However, injuries plagued him once again, as the club were relegated to the Championship at the end of the season. At the end of the 2004–05 season, Powell had made 10 appearances, scoring once in all competitions. However, Powell was released by the club. Southampton In July 2005, he was out of contract and signed for Harry Redknapp at Southampton on a Bosman free transfer. Powell made his Southampton debut, where he played the whole game in a centre–back partnership with Tomasz Hajto, in a 0–0 draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers. He then helped the Saints keep three clean sheets during August against Sheffield Wednesday, Norwich City and Crewe Alexandra. On joining the club, he quickly became a first team regular. Powell's first goal for Southampton was against Ipswich Town on 13 September 2005. He started in every match until he was hit with a