McNeil: It could have been a different game
Dwight McNeil says Crystal Palace’s Premier League opener at Everton could – and probably should – have gone a different way.
The former Toffee was making his competitive Palace debut at the Hill Dickinson Stadium and played his part in some impressive passing moves, particularly in the first-half.
But despite hitting the post twice and missing three big chances, the Eagles were the victims of two Everton goals either side of the break, and struggled to regain their momentum thereafter.
McNeil reflected: “It was disappointing. I think it’s two poor goals that we conceded.
“We should have had a couple of goals ourselves, especially in the first-half. We hit the post twice and if we took those chances, it probably would have been a different game.
“Like I say, it's some little bits in the game [that changed it]. In the Premier League, mistakes get punished, so we've got to try and rectify that. And for all the good play, it’s those little things that we need to work on – and take our chances.”
I'm enjoying it and I'm looking forward to the future
—Dwight McNeil
Regardless, McNeil was proud to make his competitive debut for the Eagles, stating: “I'm really happy to be here.
“I'm settling in. It's still going to take a little bit of time to get used to the new players and new formation, but I'm enjoying it and I'm looking forward to the future.
“The more we [the new players] play, and everyone plays with each other, the more we start to understand what everyone's good at and be in sync with each other.
“That takes time, playing with each other and training every day with each other, and getting used to everyone being together.”
McNeil will hope to make his Selhurst Park debut in Palace colours in Friday night’s first home match of the season against Manchester City.
“It’s going to be a massive game,” he reaffirmed. “We know how good of a team Man City are – but it’s our first home game of the season.
“Like I say, we’ll take the positives from today, and we just need to be more clinical in front of goal – and it might be a different game.”