Chilwell: It was great to make my debut
Ben Chilwell declared Monday ‘a good night’s work’ after making his debut in Crystal Palace’s FA Cup win over Doncaster Rovers.
The 28-year-old, who joined the club on loan from Chelsea last week, came on at half-time to garner valuable match minutes and add his experience and quality to the Palace side, who added to Daniel Muñoz’s first-half opener with Justin Devenny’s brilliant lob.
Chilwell told Palace TV: “For sure, 100% a good night’s work.
“Obviously it was great to make my debut, first of all. I think the important thing is the win. We know these types of games are never going to be easy.
“You only have to look at the results over the weekend. We knew it was going to be tough. They were a good team, it was a tough pitch to play on.
“I think to come away with a clean sheet and two good goals is very important. A Cup run is something that we want to achieve and something that we're really looking forward to this season, so to get off to a win was very important.”
With Palace now reaching the last 16 of the competition, Chilwell admitted: “We don't want to get carried away, but we do want to go on a Cup run.
“It's something the manager stressed and it’s something we all want to achieve as well. So, yes, I think it was a great start. Obviously, we've got the Premier League to focus on now, but we're very excited for the next round – but a few Prem games between now and then!”
Palace’s win against Doncaster saw them set up a fifth-round tie against South London rivals Millwall at Selhurst Park, and Chilwell smiled: “If I didn’t know [it was a rivalry], I'd have been told by the boys in there, so, yes, it's a big derby.
“I'm excited for it. It's going to be a great game and hopefully we can continue the Cup run. But like I said, a lot of important games between now and then, and hopefully we can continue this form in the league and continue to win games, and try and push up the table.”
The appearance was just Chilwell’s second of the season after a disrupted first-half to the campaign at Chelsea, and the full-back noted: “You can't replicate match minutes!
“I said to the right wing-back when I came on to stop running up and down the line because it was my first game in a while!
“And yes, to be fair, I felt like I kind of built my way into the game. Once I got my second wind, I was alright.”