It might not be the Europa League. But even the absence of Eberechi Eze as he closes in on his £67.5m move to Arsenal could not spoil Crystal Palace’s first taste of European football as they sealed a victory in the first leg of their Conference League playoff.
After a summer of uncertainty over which competition they would play in, the last thing that Oliver Glasner would have wanted was to receive a call from Eze on the morning of the game informing the Palace manager that he was not feeling well enough to play. Yet having struggled to break down well-drilled Norwegian side Fredrikstad in the first half in the absence of their talismanic England forward, Jean-Philippe Mateta’s goal calmed Palace’s nerves, even if they could not find a second that could have proved crucial as Palace attempt to secure their place in the group stages of Uefa’s third-tier competition. Glasner, who led Eintracht Frankfurt to victory in the Europa League in 2022, will know that this tie is far from over given that they must play the second leg next week on an artificial surface. Nothing is ever certain when it comes to Palace.
Glasner could not hide his disappointment beforehand that Eze would not feature, admitting that it had disrupted his side’s preparations. “It is not what you want to do, to change the starting XI on matchday, especially in this situation – the first time in European football for Crystal Palace,” he said before kick-off.
Despite the lingering feeling of disappointment of not being able to take up their place in the Europa League, there was still a sense of anticipation on the streets of south London beforehand. The Conference League anthem was widely booed as the Palace ultras behind the goal immediately struck up their chant that takes aim at Uefa, former part-owner John Textor and the Nottingham Forest owner, Evangelos Marinakis – all of whom have been blamed for their controversial demotion to this competition for breaking multi-club ownership regulations.
Strictly speaking, Palace have played in Europe before but it was in the long forgotten Intertoto Cup in 1998 when they qualified because they were the only English team to apply for entry. That adventure lasted only two matches in 4-0 aggregate defeat against Turkish side Samsunspor and having been eliminated in a playoff while in charge of Wolfsburg, Glasner was clearly taking no chances here. Justin Devenny – who scored the winning penalty in the Community Shield victory – struggled after being handed the unenviable task of replacing Eze, although the Croatia defender Borna Sosa impressed on his full debut.
Fredrikstad, who capped their first season back in Norway’s top flight since 2012 by winning their domestic cup competition, lined up with five at the back and came ready to defend. They could even have snatched an equaliser when substitute Henrik Skogvold dragged his shot wide in injury-time.
Without Eze to inspire them, it took Palace time to find their feet against a side that are more than half way through their league campaign and will have the weekend off before the second leg. Mateta finally forced goalkeeper Martin Børsheim into a save after 20 minutes but otherwise the vociferous group of travelling supporters had reason to feel encouraged. A speculative shot that flew way off target from Marc Guéhi – another Palace player whose future is uncertain – summed up the hosts’ frustration. The swaggering Adam Wharton looked like their most likely creative source from his deeper midfield role, although it was from a corner that Mateta was able to swivel and strike the post. That seemed to wake Palace up and Ismaïla Sarr’s header moments later was just about scrambled away to safety.
Glasner did not seem happy as he strode down the tunnel. His side emerged with renewed purpose for the second half and Devenny headed over a golden opportunity from Guéhi’s cross. But, to the home crowd’s relief, they finally found the breakthrough when Mateta cleverly redirected a wayward volley from Will Hughes. Sosa could have extended their lead but he fired just over after good work from Sarr, with Glasner turning to the out-of-favour Odsonne Édouard to replace Devenny as they went on the attack. Daniel Muñoz hit the post from Jefferson Lerma’s cross and Guéhi headed wide from a corner but Fredrikstad’s defence was able to hold firm.
The lack of alternatives from the bench – Romain Esse, the 20-year-old who cost around £12m from Millwall in January was surprisingly not called upon here – will only strengthen Glasner’s case for reinforcements before the transfer window closes, as he made his feelings clear after the game. But after the disruption of the last few days, Palace will still be strong favourites to finish the job next week.
