Palace boss Hodgson explains substitutions in Brighton draw

Roy Hodgson admitted his substitutions failed to have the desired impact for Crystal Palace during their 1-1 draw with Brighton on Thursday evening.

The 76-year-old former England manager brought on David Ozoh and Eberechi Eze on as the Eagles found themselves 1-0 up thanks to Jordan Ayew’s goal before half time.

Greenwich-born Eze missed a great chance during the second half to put the South Londoners 2-0 up when he was played through by Jean-Philippe Mateta.

Brighton eventually equalised through Danny Welbeck in the 82nd minute, which extended Palace’s wait for a win in the Premier League to seven games.

“I think a lot of credit must go to Brighton,” said Hodgson.

“We took Ayew off, who is an important player, because he was on four yellow cards. 

“We bought Eze on, but really, he probably isn’t as ready for it as we would like at this moment.

“We took Will Hughes off – who was doing a wonderful job for us in terms of his experience and know-how – and put young David on. That was a tough ask for him because he came on at a time they were zipping the ball around.

“I don’t think my decisions with regard to substitutions actually helped us a lot, but I must also say that I don’t know that it [the result] would have been vastly different if those substitutions had not taken place.

“Will would have found it hard for those last 30 minutes, as would have Jordan Ayew.”