The noise all goes away and we can move on

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It was defeat for Crystal Palace and Roy Hodgson at Turf Moor tonight, something the former England manager is not used to, but he saw his side beaten 1-0 to an early Chris Wood goal.

Afterwards Hodgson said: “All defeats are frustrating, especially with the way we went about our game in the second half which was very much on the front foot, taking the game to Burnley.  We created lots of situations in and around their penalty area, but unfortunately, the last pass or shot wasn’t there, and when it was, we found the goalkeeper in excellent form.

“We presented them with a fairly simple opening goal; these things happen. I’m not blaming anybody for it, but it was pretty much a gift to put them in the lead. After that, we defended well and limited them to one chance after that. But it was enough because we couldn’t take the opportunities that we created.

Embed from Getty Images“I thought that the quality of our midfield play was good enough to present enough chances for a goal. But the goalie was in good form, and they played well in their box as they tend to, they’re keen to block. With a little bit more attention to the final pass we would have created even stronger chances. But certainly in the game there were four or five gilt-edged chances to score, and if you do that against a team like Burnley that means you’re playing ok, but to get something out of the game you’ve got to take your chances.”

He was asked about their lack of goals with no player, other than the absent Wilfried Zaha, having scored more than once this season in the Premier League. “We’ve scored twelve this season after nine games,” he said. “There are goals in the team. We do have players who can and will score. There are 29 games to go, and goals will come from lots of different sources. I’m convinced of that.”

Sean Dyche was a happy, and I’m sure relieved, man tonight after seeing us win for the first time this season. After the game he said: “The way we saw it through tonight was very pleasing. All the characteristics we’ve had to show down the years were on show and the players deserve a lot of credit. They’ve deserved that.

“They’ve had to work hard for it, but it’s easy to forget that’s three clean sheets now in the last five games. That can be overlooked because you haven’t won a game, but it’s a building block. It doesn’t mean you win a game, but it’s a big step in the right direction if you are keeping clean sheets and we have been good at that down the years.

“Tonight was a step in the right direction, but nothing more because there is loads of work to be done. Nothing has been achieved, but the monkey is off our back and the noise all goes away and we can move on.”

It took a superb save from Nick Pope right at the end to keep the lead and ultimately the three points and the manager added: “It was a big save right at the end to make sure we got the clean sheet. That’s a fantastic save; throwing yourself in and giving everything for the cause and the team and with a chance of getting hurt.

“In the end we ended up digging it out in the last 15 minutes because, let’s face it, there’s a bit of nervousness about. We haven’t taken our chances, we’re 1-0 up and the players know that first win is important; not just getting the points, but psychologically.

“In the first half I thought we were really good. We asked questions, mixed the play, kept the ball well and put pressure on them. In the second half we had a really golden chance through Jόhann to kill it off. Before the game we were talking about creating a better quality of chance and we certainly did that, and then you end up wondering if it’s going to be one of those nights. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case.”

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