The Eagles largely struggled for rhythm at St. Mary’s Stadium and trailed to Paul Onuachu’s first-half goal until the closing stages – before França, a day after turning 21, popped up to put his injury troubles behind him with his first goal for the club since arriving in the summer of 2023.
“I think he really deserves that,” Nketiah told Premier League Productions. “He's had a tough time here so far with injuries, he's been unfortunate, but he's working really hard in training every day, pushing, and he's a really bubbly guy to be around.
“I'm delighted for him, obviously, to get his first goal. Hopefully it’s the first of many for him.”
On being forced to settle for a draw – although Nketiah himself came close to winning the game moments later with a sharp snap-shot over the bar – the Palace striker said: “We've been on a good run. We want to get three points all the time, but we've got to accept, obviously, they took the lead and we managed to come back.
“We take the point and move on, but of course we always want more.
“I think it's just the character of the boys and the team, the staff. It's just the kind of character we've built up through the whole season. We always want to fight, we always want to push.
“We have the quality to score goals, so we always know that even if we're down, we can bring it back. We were unlucky, and had the shot at the end that didn't go in. We were pushing and obviously we wanted to win, but we took the point.”
