Tyrick Mitchell backed to be “severe competition” for Van Aanholt at Crystal Palace

BY ANDREW MCSTEEN

Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson says that Tyrick Mitchell is “severe competition” for Patrick van Aanholt at left-back.

Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho singled out the academy product for praise after Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Selhurst Park.

Mitchell, 20, started the final two Premier League matches after Van Aanholt suffered a dislocated shoulder against Manchester United.

“I think he must be absolutely delighted [with his game time],” Hodgson told the South London Press.

“He’s had two incredibly difficult games in his first two games he’s had to play. First of all against Adama Traore and then against Lucas Moura – that’s an incredible performance he’s done on both of those occasions.

“He’ll go into his break feeling very happy with himself and realising that: ‘I can be more than just a candidate in this position, I can put Patrick van Aanholt under some severe competition for his place in the team’.”

Jeffrey Schlupp cancelled out Harry Kane’s 13th-minute strike by smashing home in the 53rd minute after a James McCarthy corner had been headed back across the goal and fell into the Ghanaian’s path after a scuffed Jordan Ayew shot.

The goal not only ended a run of seven straight defeats but was just the second time the net had bulged from a Palace corner this season – a corner won by the persistence of Mitchell, who forced Tottenham defender Serge Aurier into conceding.

“We’ve scored a few early on but there hasn’t been many of late but then of course we haven’t exactly had all of our first-team players playing either,” said Hodgson.

“It does help a little bit when people like [James] Tomkins, Gary Cahill, Christian Benteke and Luka [Milivojevic] are playing that there is more of a chance, perhaps, that we’ll score goals from corner kicks because of the quality of those players and the size of those players as well.

“So, I was pleased to score from a corner kick, but I was even more happy that we got so many corner kicks, that we took the game to the opponents as we did and had the ball so often in their half of the field.”