- Crystal Palace beat Arsenal 2-0 in final league phase game
- Round of 16 tie awaits
- Powell pleased with win and response to Forest loss
Crystal Palace’s Under-21s rounded off their Premier League 2 campaign with a 2-0 win over Arsenal, securing 10th place in Premier League Two.
The win guarantees the young Eagles’ place in the play-off rounds, qualifying for the round of sixteen where they will face either Liverpool or Tottenham Hotspur, depending on Spurs’ final result of the season.
A dominant win
Boyhood Palace fan Joe Gibbard opened the scoring with a sensational lob over Arsenal’s goalkeeper in just the fifth minute, after he’d missed a close-range chance at the start of the game.
His first goal of the campaign, he told Palace TV how important a moment it was for him.
“I’ve taken a bit of stick from the lads for not scoring this season, so it was nice to finally get one in the last game. [The win] gives us lots of confidence that we can beat any team.”
Palace looked the most likely to extend their advantage, but were held to just a one-goal lead at halftime. The second half saw the Eagles’ attacking intent continue, and Joel Drakes-Thomas came close to scoring before his pace saw him win a penalty in the 63rd minute.
Midfielder Kaden Rodney stepped forward and slammed home the spot kick, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way and doubling Palace’s advantage.
Australian striker Rylan Brownlie came close to a third, but his low-drilled effort was tipped around the post by the Arsenal keeper.
A 10th-place finish in the league phase of the competition follows their 6th-place finish last season.
Palace ended up losing 2-1 against Southampton in the semi-final last season, after a 6-0 battering of Chelsea and a 3-1 win over rivals Brighton in the round of 16.
The Young Eagles will be hoping they can go one step further this campaign.
Performance Pleases Darren Powell
Under-21 manager Darren Powell spoke to Palace TV after the game, and expressed his joy with the performance and the win.
“It was a good performance, the objective was to win the game and see where we lie at the end of the night.”
“It’s the last game at Sutton, at home, we wanted to get after these guys [Arsenal], we all know they want to play through the thirds. We wanted energy and intensity to win the ball back, because they do take risks.”
Last time out the Under-21s lost 2-0 away to Nottingham Forest, and Powell was pleased with his side’s response.
“You wanna see a reaction, and this is what these guys gave. It wasn’t us at Forest, but the boys like these kind of games, it’s a London derby and we wanted to set the tone, get around first and second balls and compete first and foremost, which we didn’t do at Forest.”
Looking ahead to the play-offs, the manager praised his team’s response and set expectations for the upcoming games.
“The most pleasing thing is our response tonight after the Forest defeat – the energy and intensity was there from start to finish. Consistency would be a key word for me, we needed to be more consistent throughout the season, we weren’t quite that.”
Palace await to discover their round of 16 opponent, but Powell stated that this win “puts us in good shape going into the playoffs.”
