HODGSON AND PELLEGRINI HAPPY WITH A POINT

BY AYODELE ODUMADE AT SELHURST PARK

THE CRYSTAL Palace manager Roy Hodgson  was delighted that his side rescued a point having been a goal down when their keeper Vicente Guaina gave away penalty, which Mark Noble scored for West Ham. He said : “When you are losing 1-0 it is hard to get back in the game against teams in this league. Quite often the team that scores the first goal goes on to continue to protect that lead and win the game. Our performance throughout the game and particularly in the second half was really good. It would have been a travesty if we had got nothing from the game, given the chances that we created. I think there were 17 of them and considering the saves [Lukasz] Fabianski had to make, I think one goal in return was poor for our efforts and there is an element of disappointment. It was a game where our efforts merited the three points and we only got one. But it is tempered by the fact that for a long period we were a goal down.”

The Palace manager was asked about his thoughts after his side  missed two chances including a sitter from James McArthur from close range, after he has sat the keeper down with a dummy. He said: “I was thinking when we missed those chances that if we continued this way and went into the dressing room losing 1-0, I would have told those players how well they played. It was nicer to do that having drawn the game 1-1. Wilfried Zaha got the equaliser as he hit a shot from a tight angle which took a deflection on its way in.

” We need to play at Premiership level be it against Liverpool away or West Ham at home. That gives me a lot of comfort because that is exactly what we are doing”  he said.

 He went on further “ There are a lot of games still to play and if we continue to play the way we have for most of the season I really cannot see any difficulties for us. We can even continue to hope that these performances will lift us into the top half of the table.“

Hodgson was asked what Michy Batshuayi needed to do to break into the first team and he said:” For [Michy] Batshuayi to start he needs to keep doing what he is doing.  I thought his performance was good and he kept getting shots away.  In his brief period on the pitch he has as many as 5 or 6 shots. He was working hard to get behind the defenders, which is what we want from him. My perception is that I think I have got a very good team and we did well against a team I feel should have beaten Liverpool last Monday night.”

The West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini was happy with the result. He said :” I think it is a good point. Not because we are happy but because of results away in the second half of the season. We played very well in the first 45 minutes. We scored a goal and created many chances.  I think today was 45 mins for each team.  In the second half Palace had possession of the ball and we tucked into our half . Big players who have possession would probably score a goal.  They scored from a lucky ball from a deflection but they dominated the second half.”  

The manager was asked if he was disappointed that they dropped deep in the second half and he said: I am not disappointed. The team played in exactly the same way we did against Liverpool in the first half. “