ROY Hodgson was left feeling glad all over after Crystal Palace’s 1-0 opening day success at newly-promoted Sheffield United.
The game was settled four minutes after the interval when Odsonne Edouard converted from Jordan Ayew’s delivery to give the Eagles a perfect start to the new campaign.
And experienced manager Hodgson was beaming afterwards with the outcome at a venue which was packed with home fans hoping to witness a winning return to the Premier League.
He said: “I’m happy with the start and happy with the points.
“Happy whenever you can come to Bramall Lane and take points, especially with a team celebrating a return to the Premier League.
“We knew we were in for a tough game in every respect. I thought we handled the situation well.”
Hodgson also praised Edouard for his match winning effort, with the Frenchman now off the mark and looking to top last season’s five-goal haul.
The Palace boss added: “He should take confidence.
“His performance throughout the game was really good in every respect. He held the ball up well and he was a target for us when we wanted to play the ball forward. He had a very good game.”
Edouard hopes today’s strike at the Blades will boost his self-belief in front of goal for the rest of the campaign.
The striker told cpfc.co.uk: “It was the first game – and we worked very hard to win the first game.
“I think we dominated the game.
“We should score more goals but it is good for the next few games.
“I’m a striker, so my target is to score goals for the team and I hope I will do this to help the team.
“It is good for the confidence as a forward.”
Edouard added: “We have a good team, we have to work hard and today we win and we proved we have a good squad.
“It’s just the start of the season. There are 37 games coming, so we will see.”
The next of those matches is in front of the Sky cameras on Monday week when Palace entertain Arsenal.
