Powell: It's a really tough one to take
Under-21s Head Coach Darren Powell gave his thoughts after Palace exited the Premier League International Cup with a 3-0 defeat to Real Sociedad in Wednesday’s quarter-final at the VBS Community Stadium.
Powell pointed to a strong first-half display but felt his side were ultimately punished at key moments.
“I thought the first half was good. I thought we played well,” he said. “Joel Drakes-Thomas was a real threat – isolating the full-back, getting 1v1s, delivering balls into the box, similar to what we saw against Wolves.
“But there was just that final bit of movement in the box which we didn’t get. We had a couple of good chances in the first half, and then the kicker is conceding just before half-time. You go in feeling pleased, but frustration kicks in straight away.”
The decisive moments, Powell explained, came in both boxes, with his side unable to capitalise on their opportunities while conceding goals he felt could have been prevented.
“The first goal is a good strike from the edge of the box, so you can accept that to a degree,” he said. “But the other two goals were defendable, and that’s what’s disappointing for me.
“When we haven’t got the ball, we’re all defenders. We’ve got to do the work out of possession, and I don’t think we did enough of that, which is slightly unusual for us.
“That’s what bugs me more than anything – the goals are defendable and we didn’t do it. We’ve gone over it, we’ve worked on defending the box, and we just didn’t do it today.”
At the other end, Powell felt his side lacked the clinical edge needed in a knockout tie.
“When you’re on top and controlling parts of the game, you’ve got to take your chances as well,” he added. “We had those moments and we didn’t put them away. So at both ends, really, it’s tough to take.”
It’s disappointing because this was a great opportunity
—Darren Powell
Despite facing one of the strongest sides in the competition – Sociedad arrived with the best group-stage record and strong form in Spain’s second tier – Powell insisted the focus remained on Palace’s own standards.
“When you watch the game back, it’s about those moments,” he said. “Defending properly out of possession and being more clinical when we have the ball. We didn’t do that well enough.”
The defeat brings an end to what had been a promising European campaign, something Powell admitted made the result even more frustrating.
“It’s disappointing because this was a great opportunity,” he said. “It’s a really good competition for us, and to get to the semi-finals would have been big.
“We didn’t do it, so it’s massively disappointing from my point of view and from the players’ as well.”
With attention quickly turning to the league, Powell called on his side to respond immediately.
“I said to the boys, we’ve got to respond and react now,” he said. “We’ve got Liverpool on Sunday, which is another very difficult game.
“We need to stand up as a group and put in performances that befit us.”