Glasner: I’m pleased with the point
Oliver Glasner says Crystal Palace can be satisfied after taking a point away from a draw with Southampton in which they struggled to reach the same levels as in recent matches.
“I'm very pleased with the point today,” the manager told Palace TV. “I think we all know that we can play better, but today it was really about never losing the belief and to keep going until the final whistle, and this is what the players did.
“We were missing a few percentage in every phase of the game and we looked a little bit mentally tired, not at our top [level]. Then also missing the first chance, then being down 1-0. We could see the players at half-time.
“We encouraged them and said, ‘yeah, sometimes it's a game where you don't perform at your best, and then it's never lose your belief, always keep going, because we will get one, two or three chances’.
“This is what I really appreciated today and what I'm really proud of: that this group always sticks together. We had a great impact from the players, from the subs today, also for pushing and getting this well-deserved equaliser. Even then we went for the win and had a big chance with Eddie [Nketiah].
“The second thing today, I think, all Crystal Palace staff and fans can learn is to stay humble, that we can't take it for granted, going everywhere in England and going home with three points. Every point is a good point and today, for me personally, it's a very good point.”
Glasner made a number of substitutions to shuffle his pack in the second-half – and it was one second-half entrant who produced Palace’s equaliser in injury time, as Matheus França popped up with his first goal for Palace, capping off a remarkable spell personally for the now-21-year-old Brazilian.
The manager explained: “I'm always talking about it before a game and after the game, that we can just be successful as a team. We need every single player, so it's good to have them available.
Joel Ward was back for the first time in the squad, and also Matheus França – for him, personally, it’s a great night. He was scoring his first goal for Palace after a 10-month injury, then he had a birthday this week and he became a father two weeks ago.
“He gets now a lot of great things back for all his investment in a tough, injured time, and it helped us today to get this point.
“I always hope and wish every single player to score a goal, because I know this is why we are playing football. Of course, for him, with his personal story, it's great and it will help him, and it will help us.
“It's good that we know we have more players who can score goals, because to win games you need to score. It will help him as a person, and it will help us, definitely.”
Although the 1-1 draw with Southampton ended Palace’s run of consecutive away wins and clean sheets, Glasner explained that every match is a learning opportunity for his side.
“Yes, we can learn from wins at Fulham, and we can learn from defeats – or heavy defeats like it was at Arsenal – and we can learn from a game like today,” Glasner said.
“We always try to improve step by step. When players look mentally tired, it's not giving more and more input, it's leaving them, so it will be definitely tomorrow they don't hear me!
“If you want to recover, it's also important to switch off, and this is what the players need now, and then to find the focus on Friday and be ready for Saturday [against Brighton & Hove Albion].
“The good thing is that Brighton have the same rhythm as we do: Saturday, Wednesday, Saturday. Maybe they have two defeats, we are unbeaten, and this is what we have to take as an advantage for us.
“But I know Brighton are a very good team, there's a lot of pace and definitely we have to play better than today. Then, it's possible to take the win.”