- Dean Henderson on Crystal Palace’s Conference League dream
- English goalkeeper explains how it feels
- Oliver Glasner’s men face Shakhtar Donetsk
Dean Henderson has insisted Crystal Palace “can deliver” a UEFA Conference League win ahead of their semi-final second leg against Shakhtar Donetsk. The two sides meet at Selhurst Park on Thursday night.
Palace are 3-1 up on aggregate after beating the Ukrainians in Krakow, Poland last week. Goals from Ismaila Sarr, Daichi Kamada and Jorgen Strand Larsen claimed another famous European victory.
The Eagles are just one game away from another final for a second consecutive season. Oliver Glasner’s men delivered FA Cup glory last year with a 1-0 win over Manchester City in the final at Wembley.
Dean Henderson Eyes ‘Incredible’ European Triumph
Henderson saved an Omar Marmoush penalty in the victory over Pep Guardiola’s Citizens. An underdog story turned into a fairytale as Eberechi Eze fired the South Londoners to a first-ever major trophy.
Palace’s dreams of adding a European trophy to their trophy cabinet are close to becoming a reality. Henderson has explained how it feels to be so close to achieving said feat.
The English goalkeeper told Sky Sports:
“It gives me goosebumps, actually, thinking about it. When I signed for the football club, I spoke to the chairman and said, ‘This team is good enough to progress into Europe.’ We have done it.”
If Palace advance to the final, they will face either Strasbourg or Rayo Vallecano. Henderson feels the team is good enough to become Conference League winners in Leipzig:
“Now we are in the situation where we’ve got to deliver. We can deliver. These boys — I’ll back them not to miss it. It would be incredible, especially after the previous season, to give the manager the sendoff he deserves.“
Henderson joined Palace from Manchester United in the summer of 2023 and has been the club’s number one ever since. He’s made 110 appearances, and he’ll be hoping one of his next six is a final in Germany later this month.
