Dean Henderson says Palace must learn from Conference League draw | OneFootball

Crystal Palace captain Dean Henderson could offer “no excuses” after the first leg of their Conference League knockout phase play-off ended in a 1-1 stalemate at Zrinjski Mostar.

Ismaila Sarr broke the deadlock on the stroke of half-time but the Eagles could not find the back of the net again after giving away the ball to allow Karlo Abramovic to draw the Bosnian Premier League side level in the 55th minute.

The disappointing draw dials up the pressure on Palace boss Oliver Glasner, whose slumping side host Wolves on Sunday, then the reverse European fixture on Thursday night at Selhurst Park.

“It’s always difficult coming to places like this,” Henderson told TNT. “Sometimes you get a bit agitated, you want to go and get the next goal, and obviously with the pitch today, no excuses but playing balls into the pockets when it’s bobbling, then they can break us, obviously.

“That was difficult tonight but we’ve got to learn from it, we’ve got to move on. It will be a different game next week, and we’ve just got to make sure we’re prepared for that.”

Palace snapped a 12-game winless streak across all competitions by beating Brighton away in the Premier League, then suffered an agonising 3-2 home defeat to Burnley, who bounced back from a two-goal deficit.

On paper, they look like the team most equipped to win the Conference League but their recent form on the pitch is not good.

“It’s not going to be easy,” added Henderson, reflecting on Thursday’s task. “We can’t just turn up and expect to win three, four-nil, simple as that. We’ve got to learn from it.”

In January, Palace boss Oliver Glasner announced that he will to move on from the Eagles when his contract expires at the end of this season.

His side have probably done enough to assure them of Premier League safety, while qualifying for Europe through their English top-flight positioning seems unlikely.

The Austrian boss also suffered an additional blow in Bosnia, after Maxence Lacroix was forced off just after the hour with what Glasner shared might be muscle issue.

Glasner told TNT: “It was the same against Burnley. We were controlling the game, having the lead, and then we just made two easy mistakes.

“And then, even when you see the opportunities, we have always an overload, and we can’t defend the one we want. It’s what I said before the game, we have to get our defence sorted.”

After the Burnley defeat, Glasner called on his men to fill a leadership void – a gap he is still looking for them to fill.

“Of course in three days there are no leaders born, so that’s normal,” he added. “It is how it is.”