Ward takes encouragement from Palace display
Joel Ward believes there were enough positives in Crystal Palace’s performance against Manchester City that they should be encouraged for the weeks ahead.
The Eagles took an early lead against the reigning Premier League champions at Selhurst Park through Jean-Philippe Mateta, but were pegged back by Kevin de Bruyne’s superb strike soon after.
Nevertheless, Palace were good value to get in at half-time level, but fell victim to a quick smattering of goals early in the second-half from the hosts, rendering Odsonne Edouard’s late finish merely a consolation in a 4-2 defeat.
Ward told Palace TV: “I think for the majority of the game, we defended well and nullified their threats.
“Unfortunately, when you're playing against a top team like this, they only need a couple of opportunities, and I think we limited them to that, but unfortunately they found the net on more than one occasion.
“I think there's a lot of positives that we can take from that game. Obviously, we created a good few chances as well, and scored two goals. I think from front to back, we were solid for large spells of the game.
“It was just 10, 15 minutes of the second-half that they put the game to bed.
“You’re always going to have spells in the game. That's obviously the Premier League, when you're coming up against top-quality sides. You look at their stats against Arsenal, I think they had 75% possession, so you're always going to have your back up against City.
“But like I said, I think we defended really well and we also created some really good chances. Against another team, we’d probably go on to win that game.”
Ward was pleased to record his 300th Premier League appearance for Palace against Bournemouth earlier in the week, but explained he would not rest on his laurels: “Yeah, it is [a good landmark].
“I'm focusing on what's next and keeping moving forward and keeping my head down. If I can add more and more to that, then that's what I want to achieve. I don't stop yet. I don't stop now.“