It is the nature of football that when one player’s stock is on the up, there is always another whose performance comes under scrutiny. After the pulsating finish to a match that had struggled to meet expectations on a boiling hot day in south London, that was the scenario left facing Crystal Palace’s Alan Pardew and his Aston Villa counterpart Tim Sherwood.
Bakary Sako’s match-winning debut is how this game will be remembered after he made the most of his opportunity following the death of Yannick Bolasie’s father, which meant the Congolese winger missed this match. There was also an intriguing introduction to English football from Adama Traoré. But for Wilfried Zaha and Jordan Amavi, the memories will not be so pleasant.
Handed the opportunity to partner Glenn Murray up front in the first half – a role that he has always coveted – Zaha was hauled off at half-time having failed to make a lasting impression.
“We couldn’t really accommodate to have a winger today with the form they are in. So he was unlucky,” admitted Pardew when asked about Zaha. “I’ve seen good reactions from him, but he is under pressure. Sako is going to put him under pressure, so will Bolasie when he returns. It’s a real nice problem there.”
Pardew, who still expects Murray to be at the club after the transfer window closes next week despite interest from Bournemouth, was adamant that he is still on the lookout for new players after a busy summer of transfer activity. “Always. I never give in,” he said. “Keep spending.”
Whether Sherwood follows suit remains to be seen, especially given that the arrival from Barcelona of Traoré – a Spain youth international who, like Sako, has Malian heritage – was Villa’s 10th signing of the close season. He singled out another of those new faces, the 21-year-old French defender Amavi, for his mistake that gifted Palace the points, as recognition that there is plenty of work to be done.
“It’s all a part of learning. He’s got to get on with it,” said Sherwood. “If he goes under he isn’t going to be a player. I don’t anticipate him doing that. He’s played a lot of games in Ligue 1. He’s probably made mistakes before. We know the positives outweigh the negatives with him. He knows he’s made some mistakes, it’s up to me to pick him up if he needs it. Hopefully he can pick himself up.”
He added: “The average age of the players we’ve brought in is probably 21. They’re very young, tenderly young. Everyone realised we’re not just bringing them in for this season. We’re bringing them in for the long-term view of the club and it’s something I want to do. But I still recognise we need to win. We need to start winning and we will.”
Man of the match: Bakary Sako (Crystal Palace)
