The 29-year-old goalkeeper, who first joined Palace in the summer of 2021 – after impressive spells with Norwich, Doncaster, Plymouth, Bolton and Sunderland – had previously been named on the bench 23 times for the Eagles before making his bow.
But when Sam Johnstone suffered a calf injury with five minutes of regulation time left on the clock against Liverpool at Selhurst Park – and with Dean Henderson at that stage on his way back from injury – Matthews’ long-awaited opportunity arrived.
While Liverpool went on to win that game, the Palace goalkeeper could still take pride in the milestone of both his Premier League and Eagles debut.