‘Massive consequences’ – Roy Hodgson delivers verdict on Crystal Palace’s 1-1 draw at West Ham

Roy Hodgson was relieved that his Crystal Palace side saw out their 1-1 draw at West Ham United on Sunday afternoon as he believed another late defeat would have had “massive consequences” on his side’s confidence.

West Ham took the lead early on when Mohammed Kudus finished off Vladimir Coufal’s cross inside the area. The shot from the former Ajax attacker deflected off Marc Guehi and past Sam Johnstone.

Odsonne Edouard equalised for the Eagles in the 53rd minute when Konstantinos Mavropanos played a poor pass at the back and the French striker capitalised on the ball to shoot beyond Alphonse Areola.

The Eagles ended their two-game losing streak in the Premier League, which saw them lost late on against Everton and Luton, with picking up a point against West Ham.

Hodgson said: “I thought that for large periods of the game, I was really quite pleased with the way we were playing – both defending and attacking.

“It was an even game in that period of time. Right at the very beginning, we started extremely well.

“We had to go through the anxious moments of the last five minutes of normal and extra time – that’s understandable.

“We have just lost two games with two late goals – games where we felt that we gave away a little bit of the point that we earned.

“I could have done without that 10 minutes when West Ham were at their most dangerous.

“The team showed a lot of resilience in that situation and I can understand the anxiety.

“It was more important to come away from this game with a point today, as if we had lost this game with another late goal, it would have had massive consequences for the team’s confidence and feeling about themselves.

“If they think back to the way we played the game for the whole 90 minutes, we can be pretty satisfied with the point we have taken today.”

PICTURES: ROB AVIS