The bad news for Oliver Glasner is that Crystal Palace’s marathon season is about to get even longer. A thrilling draw against Finnish side KuPS in their 27th game of the campaign means that they must now contest a two-leg playoff at the end of February after finishing just outside the top eight in the Conference League table.
Having selected an entirely different starting lineup including four teenagers from the side who lost to Manchester City at the weekend, the Palace manager saw his second string impress as Christantus Uche gave them a deserved half-time lead.
But it needed a late equaliser from Justin Devenny to salvage a draw after they conceded two goals in three minutes in the second half, with the Northern Irishman and Eddie Nketiah then coming closest to snatching a victory in injury-time after KuPS had been reduced to 10 men.
It means Palace face a tie against either Bosnian side Zrinjski or Sigma Olomouc of the Czech Republic – a prospect that will at least give their fans the chance to notch up another country on their first European tour.
“We wanted to go straight into the last 16 but we knew that this could happen and we have to accept it when we picked this team,” said Glasner, whose side could face nine games in February if they can get past Arsenal in the rearranged Carabao Cup quarter-final next week. “We want this schedule and hopefully playing the Carabao Cup final and the FA Cup final as well. Playing 65 games in a season, that’s what we want because it would mean we have been successful.”
Glasner also acknowledged that the only drawback to prioritising their Premier League game against Leeds on Saturday night is that their opponents already know their team. But he was delighted with the impact made by teenage defenders George King and Dean Benamar on their debuts, while 16-year-old winger Joel Drakes-Thomas became the fourth youngest player in Palace’s history and looks a real talent.
KuPS, who will also contest the playoffs, must have thought their luck was in when they saw the teamsheets. Managed by former Stockport and Hibernian midfielder Jarkko Wiss, their domestic season finished nearly two months ago when the team from the Finnish Lakeland city of Kuopio that is twinned with Oldham were crowned champions for a second year in a row.
But any thoughts KuPS may have had that Palace’s young side would simply roll over were dispelled inside the first five minutes. Uche started the move when he exchanged passes with Borna Sosa before deceiving his marker and effortlessly curling a shot into the far corner with the outside of his right foot. There were gasps when the goal was replayed on the big screen, such was its quality. The Nigeria striker could have had more in the first half after Drakes-Thomas hustled the KuPS defence into a mistake, although there were a few worried faces on the Palace bench when he went down clutching his knee before being able to continue.
King, who plays for the Republic of Ireland’s Under-19s and has been a regular for Palace’s Under-21s this season, looked assured on the right of the back three, while Benamar was a lively presence down the left. Romain Esse went closest to extending Palace’s lead but screwed his shot wide before being booked for a crude tackle on Jaakko Oksanen that infuriated Glasner. KuPS failed even to register a shot on target before the break while a clever backheel from Esse almost set up Uche for another chance.
Whatever Wiss said to his players at half-time clearly had the desired effect. A break instigated by Otto Ruoppi allowed Saku Savolainen to set up Piotr Parzyszek for the equaliser and they went ahead two minutes later when Ibrahim Cissé diverted a shot from Clinton Antwi past Walter Benítez. It could have been even worse for Palace had Parzyszek not had another goal ruled out because Petteri Pennanen was offside in the buildup.
Glasner introduced Marc Guéhi, Tyrick Mitchell and Will Hughes from the bench in a bid to change the momentum but Palace still struggled to mount a response. They were given a lifeline when Antwi was sent off for an awful studs-up challenge on Hughes that prompted the Israeli referee to immediately brandish his red card.
Devenny took advantage when he headed in Mitchell’s cross to set up a grandstand finale, even if Palace could not quite find a winner.