Shelbourne 0-3 Crystal Palace: The key lesson Oliver Glasner can be taught from dominant Conference League win – and the star who can kick-start his Eagles profession in Ismaila Sarr’s absence
Crystal Palace all but secured their spot in the Conference League knockout stages with a 3-0 victory over Shelbourne.
Oliver Glasner‘s side were too good for their Irish opponents and goals from Christantus Uche, Eddie Nketiah and Yeremy Pino were enough on a rainy night in Dublin.
The Eagles sit ninth in the Conference League table and need just a point in their final League Stage game against KUPS next Thursday to go through, although it would take a significant turn of results for them not to finish in the top 24.
If they are to end up in the top eight and avoid a two-legged play-off round in the New Year though they will likely need to win in a week’s time, but it was an extremely positive night for Palace who were even able to give academy product Ben Casey his debut.
Daily Mail Sport’s WILL PICKWORTH watched on and he has picked out some key talking points from the clash.
Crystal Palace secured a dominant 3-0 victory over Shelbourne in the Conference League
It was a good night for Oliver Glasner as his side all but secured their place in the Conference League knockout stages
How did Palace’s fringe players do?
The elephant in the room during Palace’s success this season has always been squad depth and how they will cope when the schedule ramps up.
The Eagles are in the midst of a chaotic run of 15 games across 49 days and that has started to take its toll. They had only 15 fit senior outfield players on Thursday night and key men Ismaila Sarr, Jean-Philippe Mateta and Daniel Munoz were among the absentees.
Glasner has been reluctant to rotate throughout his time at Selhurst Park, instead relying on a core group, yet he was forced to switch things up here.
Justin Devenny, Walter Benitez, Borna Sosa and Uche all came in for rare starts and the quartet gave Glasner confidence he can rely on them. There was even a sighting of Romain Esse off the bench for the first time in nearly two months.
It was Uche who stood above the rest though after being in from the off for the first time since his summer move from Getafe. The Nigerian had played only 103 minutes in all competitions prior to Thursday night, but he was a menace for Shelbourne’s defence throughout.
He finished his goal well, held the ball up and linked nicely with Nketiah and Pino to show he can be a genuine alternative to Mateta in the weeks ahead.
‘The most important thing is always scoring,’ Glasner said post-match. ‘He also assisted one. Eddie scored one and Yeremy scored one too.
‘So all three who played up front scored a goal and assisted each other and that’s how it should be. This gives them the confidence.
‘It was time for Uche. He deserved it because he showed up against Fulham (last Sunday) and that’s why he deserved it.
‘It was a very good performance for him. Maybe this is the starting moment for him at Crystal Palace.’
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Christantus Uche impressed on his first start for Crystal Palace since his summer transfer
Eddie Nketiah also shone and the former Arsenal star scored for the second game in a row
Could Sarr’s absence kick-start Nketiah’s Palace career?
When Eddie Nketiah joined Palace in August 2024, it was supposed to be the next step of his career after struggling for regular game time at Arsenal.
The forward has had to bide his time though, largely playing second fiddle behind Mateta, and this was only his 15th start for the club – a record that has been added to by 36 substitute appearances.
But with Sarr out and expected to head to AFCON with Senegal, potentially for a month, this is the perfect opportunity for Nketiah, and he added to Sunday’s strike against Fulham with another goal.
Nketiah recently spoke about regaining his rhythm and he played with a swagger in Dublin. He helped Palace to kill off the game in the first half, although he should have added another in the second.
He is playing a deeper role than he is accustomed to as one of the No 10s, yet Nketiah could prove to be the perfect deputy for Sarr at a time when Glasner needs his whole squad to contribute.
‘I’m getting sharper with every minute I play and feeling like myself,’ Nketiah said. ‘I just want to keep improving and hopefully I can help the team.’
