Crystal Palace boss: Zaha and Guaita were plusses to come out of Burnley loss

BY ANDREW MCSTEEN

Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson admitted that two of the positives to come out of the 1-0 defeat to Burnley was the return of Vicente Guaita – and Wilfried Zaha showing no ill-effects from the injury which forced him off against Liverpool.

The Eagles had 17 shots and nine corners but suffered a reverse as they returned to Premier League action at Selhurst Park.

“There was no problem with Vicente’s kicking – which was the thing that was going to bother us the most of all because he had a thigh strain, but he seemed to be kicking the ball perfectly and there were no complaints afterwards,” said Hodgson about the Spanish shotstopper.

“Wilf came through the game excellently well. He got better and stronger as the game went on. He got more and more into the game and it was he really who was causing a large number of problems for the Burnley defence.”

It was the first-ever Premier League game without fans for Palace at home and Hodgson acknowledged the difference while sending a message to the SE25 faithful.

“It’s always noticeable playing games without fans – it was noticeable in Bournemouth and at Liverpool,” he told the South London Press.

“Playing at home you are hoping the fans support would urge you on, but I must say, I don’t think the players could have done a lot more than they did in that second half, especially after conceding the goal, to push forward, to do everything they could to get an equaliser.

“I don’t know that any amount of urging could have got much more from them than they actually gave. I think the sad thing for all football teams at the moment is we are playing these games behind closed doors and we are pleased to be doing so (playing games), but we are disappointed for our fans who I know would love to be here.”