Crystal Palace were held to a 0-0 draw at home to AEK Larnaca on Thursday night, and boos rang out at Selhurst Park. This was another game in which Oliver Glasner’s men failed to break down a low block, and the result must prevail away at AEK Arena next Thursday (March 19th).
The Eagles weren’t helped by the wind, but they were also wasteful in front of goal. The best chances on the night fell to Evann Guessand, Tyrick Mitchell and Chris Richards, but neither could find the back of Serbian goalkeeper Zlatan Alomerović’s net.
Larnaca managed just two attempts all game and put in a superb defensive display to keep the hosts at bay. If Glasner is to guide his troops through to the quarter-finals of the Europa Conference League, he’ll have to get the job done in Cyprus.
A Larnaca palava
Crystal Palace’s frustration was written on the players’ faces when the final whistle blew. Brennan Johnson spoke after the game about the disappointment of not taking a lead to AEK Arena next week.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise to see Glasner’s attackers struggle against Larnaca, though. They are the best defensive team in the competition this season, conceding just one goal in seven UEFA matches since the start of the Conference League’s league phase last September.
| Crystal Palace | Match Stats | AEK Larnaca |
|---|---|---|
| 71 | Posesssion (%) | 29 |
| 13 | Shots | 2 |
| 4 | Shots on target | 0 |
| 7 | Shots off target | 1 |
| 605 | Passes | 246 |
| 6 | Corners | 3 |
| 1 | Offsides | 2 |
| 0 | Saves | 4 |
| 2 | Blocked shots | 1 |
Larnaca have conceded just one of 83 shots they have faced, which speaks volumes of the difficulties on display last night. This will also be a concern for the Premier League club because not only will they be up against a dogged defence next week, but on their home soil.
Glasner: Learn from this game
The only goal Larnaca have conceded in Europe this season was a 90+4th-minute equaliser in a 1-1 draw against Swedish outfit Hacken. They nicked a victory at Selhurst Park back in October despite the Eagles again dominating proceedings.
Glasner is well aware of just how resilient the Cypriots are and pointed this out following the draw on Thursday. He said (via Sky Sports):
“If the team just conceded one in the group stage, then they won’t concede three or four against us. We have to be patient and learn from this game.”
Larnaca had a new man in the dugout in Spanish coach Javi Rozada. This left Glasner and his team second-guessing how the visitors would be set up:
“We didn’t know how the new manager will play, but he played the same style as in the first leg, and I expect he’ll play the same way, so maybe we have to adapt to it. I think the performance was absolutely okay. Maybe it was not the top, top performance, but it was okay.”
He added:
“We were very well organised, we didn’t give them transitions that they were waiting for. We knew that it’s not easy to create chances to score goals. I think we had opportunities to score. I think there is two, but also credit to the keeper, especially in the first half, two big saves.”
Larnaca have conceded 22 goals in 25 games in the Cypriot First Division this season, 12 in 13 at AEK Arena. The good news for Glasner was that Jean-Philippe Mateta returned to action last night, and the under-fire French striker might be eager to prove his commitment to the club by firing his side through to the next round.
