Andros Townsend was left feeling numb by Matic's late wonder strike, especially so soon after Harry Kane's last gasp winner eight days ago which silenced Selhurst Park: "Twice in eight days we've thoroughly deserved at least a point, if not all three. We've been undone by a bit of quality right at the end. Everyone is devastated in that dressing room."
On the approach Hodgson had set for the Eagles, the winger said: "We know from past experience under the lights at Selhurst Park on a Monday night - the fans are going to create an incredible atmosphere. We knew we had to start fast to keep them on our side, and we did just that.
"We came out fast again in the second half and got the second goal. I think for 5-10 minutes after that, we went a big ragged and the game got away from us then."
Asked if Palace thought the game was won after Van Aanholt's fine strike, Townsend said: "No, you can never be sure when you're playing one of the best sides in the country. We knew they had a quality starting eleven, [and also] on the bench to change the game."
But Townsend was left to wonder about what might have been: "Maybe [at 2-0] we should have settled for two goals, shut up shop and tried to frustrate them. Once they scored, the momentum was with them.
"We were still going strong in the last ten minutes - De Gea pulled off a world class save from Christian's header. We had two or three decent attacks, so I don't think tiredness got to us. At one end, their keeper has pulled off a world class save, and the other, a player has puled off a world class strike. That's the Premier League unfortunately, and we've been on the receiving end of it tonight."
Palace face Chelsea on Saturday, and Townsend hopes that Palace's reputation of saving their best for the bigger teams comes true once again at Stamford Bridge: "If anything, we're more confident going against the top sides. We've proved that we can pull off shocks against top sides."
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