A pair of second half strikes from the Scotsman saw a much-changed Eagles side advance to the next round of the competition, and De Boer was delighted with the quality of McArthur’s brace that proved to the difference between the two sides.
The Eagles manager spoke about a number of topics in his post-match press conference, including:
Delight at victory: “Winning gives you confidence and it’s always nice to win. Perhaps Saturday is more important after our two losses but I’m very pleased with the spirit I saw from the players. Some were coming back from injury and others have been waiting for their chance, and I said to them before the game that they had to show what they can do and make it as hard as possible for me. A lot of players showed that they are ready so I’m very pleased.
“If you analyse the first half we couldn’t really get any pressure on them and that’s why we changed things after 50 minutes to a 4-3-3, and from then we had total control and created our chances.”
McArthur’s goals: “He had three moments of quality. He scored with his left and with his right, and the goalkeeper made a fantastic save from another from his left. He showed good composure and accuracy and didn’t hit the ball hard to put it in the corner. From that distance, I always say to shoot with your instep because you have the best possible chance to score a goal, and he did.
“I didn’t say it to him but he’s a very smart player who understands football, but I always tell strikers that if you’re in the range of 18 yards that you should try to shoot from the inside as it’s easier and normally you will score more goals, and he did exactly that, so compliments to him.”
First goals going in: “You’re always waiting for that moment and I’m very pleased for the team, the fans and everyone who loves Crystal Palace that we finally scored a goal.”
Zaha injury update: “Wilf is a very robust player and the first couple of days is very important to have some rest. From now on he’s going to start his rehab, but we don’t know how long it’s going to take. The risk is that you start too early and that he has a setback, so I don’t want to put a time on it right now.”