Roy laps up trademark Palace triumph
ROY HODGSON relished the spirit Crystal Palace showed to come back and beat Aston Villa in a Selhurst Park thriller.
The 73-year-old may have just two games of his illustrious managerial career to go with his contract ending in the summer and no new deal forthcoming.
But if the end is near, Hodgson would like to be remembered for the kind of performance sealed by Tyrick Mitchell’s late winner.
‘That was a throwback to so many matches I have seen here over the last four years,’ he said.
‘Our second-half performance was what I would call a typical Crystal Palace performance. The first half wasn’t that good but when we went behind we didn’t accept that. We made certain from the offset in the second half we would get back in the game. After getting back into it at 2-2, we went for the winner.’
Villa had led twice through John McGinn and Anwar El Ghazi, but Christian Benteke and Wilfried Zaha levelled before Mitchell bundled his first senior goal six minutes from time.
‘It was a really satisfying moment for the players and they should be very proud of the way they have worked. It was a great day for Tyrick and very much appreciated by his team-mates, who gave him a rousing round of applause when he came in after he finished talking to the media.
‘It is a wonderful moment for a player who has a very bright future and I am hoping to see him go on to have a very good Premier League career.’
England international goalkeeper Jack Butland marked his second Palace appearance with two fine saves having arrived from Stoke in October.
‘He was very good. It’s nice to know the faith we have in Jack has been justified. He’s had to wait a long time,’ said Hodgson.