Was Vicente Guaita at fault for Burnley winner? Palace boss Hodgson has his say on SE25 winner

BY SAM SMITH AND ANDREW McSTEEN

Roy Hodgson believes Crystal Palace goalkeeper Vicente Guaita will be disappointed with the goal he conceded against Burnley on Monday.

The Spaniard could only push Ben Mee’s header midway through the second half against the post and the ball squirmed over the line.

But Hodgson does not want to pile the blame on his stopper and believes the goal should have been stopped before the ball reached Guaita.

The Palace boss admitted: “There were lots of things that could have happened [to prevent the goal]. We could have done better in not giving the free-kick away, we could have done better, certainly, at defending the ball that came in and I’m sure that Vicente, who sets very high standards, will be disappointed that he didn’t get the ball away.

“Really and truly he had very little to do in the game, there were very few moments in the game where he was called into action, he was largely a spectator behind the back four, especially as the game went on, we really dominated the last 20-25 minutes or so.

“So, obviously, I am not going to blame him for that, and once more, he’s been so good for us this season that even if I was to concede that, perhaps, a goalkeeper of his quality would normally save that, I am certainly not going to blame him for it because we owe him so many wonderful saves which have kept us in games and won us points.”