Palace asserted themselves early in the tie, with first-half goals from Christantus Uche, Eddie Nketiah, and Yéremy Pino putting the contest firmly under Glasner’s control.
But for the Academy staff watching proudly from afar, the moment that followed late on arguably meant even more.
On 82 minutes, Benji Casey – who has scored an impressive 15 goals in 20 Academy appearances this season – was called from the bench, replacing his training bib with Eagle Gold in anticipation of taking to the pitch.
For Casey, it was the realisation of a dream: "It was a great day. It was something that I've been dreaming about my whole life. I didn't even think I was going to come on, but I was always ready."
