Reflecting on the 1-3 win over Norwich City at Carrow Road on the opening day of the season, Eagles striker Glenn Murray said that his side had to show resilience throughout.
Murray had the opportunity to put Alan Pardew’s side 1-0 up in the first half, but his chance went begging. However, in the 39th minute, Wilfried Zaha was on hand to put the ball in the net and send the travelling Palace fans wild.
Speaking to the Croydon Advertiser, Murray said:
“It probably wasn’t the best performance we’ve made, but it shows the character of the group and the resilience.
“To go to somewhere like Norwich, with the momentum they had of getting promoted and with the fans behind them, to ride the storm and come out with three points was great.
“Norwich were buoyant and we needed to weather it. Thankfully we did. We showed character to come away with a hard-fought victory.
“You definitely have to take your chances. I missed a few, but Wilf stepped up to give us the lead and from there on I felt we were comfortable.
“I felt we were better when Wilf switched to the left, as he took a bit of pressure off everyone.”
Following Damien Delaney’s goal that initially had put Palace 2-0 up, the Canaries gave themselves a chance when Nathan Redmond found then net from distance, beating the scrambling McCarthy between the sticks.
At the death, Yohan Cabaye wrapped up the win for the visitors with his debut goal, slotting him from James McArthur’s assist.
“It was a brilliant pass from Macca,” said Murray.
“I thought he was going to shoot with his left foot, but he just slid it through to Yohan.
“He killed it off for us to get three points. When they got the goal back, it was like the start of the game again but we managed to ride it.
“We have been used to those situations before, we defended as a unit and we sort of revel in that.”
Murray and his team-mates will be hoping that they can pick up another three points to keep the tremendous start going, and will be in front of their home fans for the first time this season. However, the opponents are a tad trickier and are also looking to bounce back from defeat as Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal travel down to Selhurst Park, in which is usually a happy hunting ground for the Gunners.
