The Crystal Palace player ratings vs Bromley reflect a frustrating afternoon for Pierre Sage’s side after a 3-0 pre-season defeat at Hayes Lane.
Eddie Nketiah was Palace’s brightest senior performer, while David Ozoh and Matheus França also strengthened their cases for further opportunities.
Palace created several chances but failed to take them before Victor Adeboyejo scored twice and Nicke Kabamba completed Bromley’s victory. Sage used separate teams in each half as he continued assessing his senior players and academy prospects. The Evening Standard’s match report confirmed Palace were level at half-time before conceding three times after the break.
Crystal Palace player ratings vs Bromley: First-half team
Walter Benítez: 5/10
Produced an excellent reaction save to prevent Tayo Adaramola from scoring an own goal. His distribution was less convincing, with several passes placing teammates under unnecessary pressure.
Dean Benamar: 6/10
Regularly provided width and made several positive overlapping runs. Benamar also handled pressure well when receiving possession, although Palace rarely found him in the best attacking positions.
Tayo Adaramola: 4/10
Looked uncomfortable again while operating as the left-sided centre-back. The position does not play to his natural strengths, but Adaramola still needed to show greater composure in possession.
Charlie Walker-Smith: 6/10
Handled the physical challenge provided by Michael Cheek impressively. The 18-year-old made sensible decisions and looked comfortable bringing the ball forward.
Jaydee Canvot: 6/10
Had few defensive problems during a quiet first half. Canvot continued showing for the ball and looked to progress possession rather than selecting the safest pass.
Rio Cardines: 5/10
Forced Shamal George into a save with a driven early effort. Cardines maintained Palace’s width but needed more accuracy and conviction with his final ball.
Will Hughes: 5/10
Made himself available and attempted to move the ball forward quickly. Some of his passes failed to find their target, but the intent suited Sage’s approach.
Justin Devenny: 6/10
Brought energy to central midfield and made several intelligent runs beyond Hughes. Devenny linked play effectively and looked comfortable when moving into advanced areas.
Jesurun Rak-Sakyi: 4/10
Wasted Palace’s clearest opportunity of the first half after breaking through on goal. He appeared determined to move the ball onto his stronger foot and allowed the chance to disappear.
Matheus França: 7/10
Palace’s liveliest first-half attacker, although his finishing prevented a higher score. França found dangerous spaces, intercepted a loose back-pass and created a clear opening for Romain Esse.
The Brazilian appears far more comfortable centrally than when isolated on the wing. He also built on the promise shown when he scored a hat-trick against Swindon Town.
Romain Esse: 3/10
Should have scored from França’s pass but directed his close-range effort straight at George. Esse struggled to influence the match and must demand possession more regularly.
His talent is clear, but Sage will expect far greater involvement from a player competing for an important attacking role.
Second-half Crystal Palace ratings
Joe Whitworth: 5/10
Communicated constantly with the defenders in front of him and could do little about the final score. Whitworth was exposed for the opener, guessed correctly for the penalty and had no realistic chance of stopping Kabamba’s header.
Tyrick Mitchell: 6/10
Immediately delivered a dangerous cross which almost created a goal for Brennan Johnson. Mitchell defended reliably and offered consistent width on the left.
Borna Sosa: 4/10
Struggled as the left-sided member of the back three. Sosa lost possession in a dangerous area soon after coming on and never appeared fully comfortable in the unfamiliar role.
Mofe Jemide: 3/10
Made a costly error for Bromley’s opening goal by allowing the long ball to travel through rather than attacking it. A difficult afternoon for a highly regarded academy defender.
George King: 5/10
Mixed several loose passes with some encouraging attempts to break Bromley’s defensive lines. King showed positive intent but needed greater consistency with the execution.
Danny Imray: 6/10
Looked comfortable on his return to Hayes Lane. The wing-back supported Palace’s attacks with energy and went close with a header.
David Ozoh: 7/10
One of Palace’s strongest performers. Ozoh contributed during the deeper build-up, carried the ball into advanced areas and nearly scored when George denied his effort.
The midfielder looked far more assured than he did against Swindon and gave Sage another reason to retain him around the senior squad.
Cheick Doucouré: 4/10
Continued to look short of rhythm following his long injury absence. Several passes went astray, while his mistake led to the challenge which gave Bromley their penalty.
The most important positive was another 45 minutes of football. Doucouré still needs time before he can reproduce the intensity of his best Palace performances.
Joel Drakes-Thomas: 7/10
Added urgency and direct running to Palace’s attack. The 17-year-old looked comfortable against senior opposition and repeatedly attempted to make something happen.
However, a nine out of 10 would have been excessive after he pulled a clear chance wide from Nketiah’s cross. It was still another performance suggesting he could be among the academy players retained by Sage, who has said five or six youngsters could remain around the first team.
Eddie Nketiah: 8/10
Palace’s best player despite only featuring in the second half. Nketiah held the ball up well, created an excellent chance for Drakes-Thomas and struck the crossbar during a goalmouth scramble.
He played with purpose and looked determined to lead the attack. On this evidence, Sage can trust Nketiah to start the season if his other senior strikers remain unavailable.
Brennan Johnson: 5/10
Showed greater discipline than he did against Swindon when keeping his game simple. Johnson used his speed to stretch Bromley but became less effective whenever he moved into congested central areas.
He almost converted Mitchell’s cross, only for George to make an important intervention.
ReadCrystalPalace man of the match
Eddie Nketiah: 8/10
Nketiah provided Palace’s strongest attacking threat and deserved at least one direct goal contribution. His movement, hold-up play and work around the penalty area were among the few clear positives from the second half.
