James Tomkins has admitted that his missed opportunity against Chelsea took him by surprise as Crystal Palace lost out at Stamford Bridge.
The Palace defender missed a glorious chance to score with the Blues ahead 1-0 on Saturday, with Tomkins putting a free header wide after meeting Luka Milivojevic's delivery from the right.
It was Palace's best opportunity in a game of few chances for the Eagles, with goals from Tammy Abraham and Christian Pulisic sealing the victory for Chelsea.
And reflecting on his chance, Tomkins made a confession after the game.
“It did [come as a bit of a surprise]. I wasn’t expecting it, but it is unfortunate that nothing came of that," he said.
“We had a few half chances, it wasn’t like we peppered their goal, but it was about trying to keep them out and maybe get a chance on the break.
“They are obviously a good, confident side, and we knew it would be difficult.
“I think keeping them out for the first half, we come out for the second half and all you need is a goal to give us something to hold onto, but it wasn’t to be.
“We did start to play a bit after going 1-0 and then 2-0 down, but it was a bit disappointing coming to a place like this and defending for long periods to keep them out, only to get nothing."
However, Tomkins insisted that there were positives for Palace to take, despite a third defeat in four games, which left the Eagles 12th in the table ahead of the international break.
“I thought the first goal might have been offside, but VAR obviously checked that, then for the second goal it landed on his head, so things didn’t quite go our way," he said.
“We want to make it hard for teams to score against us, but there are positives to take out of it, for sure.
“Obviously it is Liverpool next and it is a tough run of games that we are having."
