OLIVER Glasner praised the contribution of Asher Agbinone after the eighteen-year-old winger came on for his Eagles debut in the 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest at The City Ground on Monday.
On a bad night for Palace when they made their worst start to a Premier League season in 32 years, Chris Wood scored the only gaol of the game in the 65th minute after a mistake from Dean Henderson.
England goalkeeper Henderson let the ball go under his right arm from Wood’s first-time 20-yard shot after Trevoh Chalobah’s attempted header clear.
Eddie Nketiah hit the post with a 30-yard shot in the first half before Matz Sels tipped Eberechi Eze’s effort onto the bar in the second.
Sels then denied Jeffrey Schlupp with ten minutes left as Palace’s winless start to the Premier League season stretched to eight games.
Agbinone was an 88th-minute substitute for Daichi Kamada.
Glasner said: “We brought him on because he has a lot of pace. He can run in behind and dribble. He also created a corner, and this was the reason, because he’s maybe one of our fastest players. He’s a very good talent.
“I think it’s not the moment to give all the responsibility of scoring to an eighteen-year-old academy player. With other players, I saw them taking the responsibility.
“But it was two unbelievable saves from Sels, from Ebs’ finish and Schlupp’s finish especially. Twice we hit the post, so again, there’s no one to blame at the moment.”
Glasner revealed Henderson “tried to apologise but I didn’t allow it. It’s not to blame anybody – he made so many big saves for us this season and last season, and it happens. It’s sports and again, they are all human.
“It’s always about how we deal with the mistakes. It took us 5-10 minutes, and then the reaction of the team is what gives me a positive feeling for our next games.”
Palace face Tottenham Hotspur at Selhurst Park on Sunday at 2pm.
Glasner added: “Against Tottenham, I don’t expect an easy game. This is a great team, very attacking, they have a lot of pace, maybe the team with the most pace in the league.
“We know the challenges we have, and we will need Dean – and he will help us for sure.”
