SAM Johnstone claimed Tuesday’s tame Carabao Cup defeat at Old Trafford was the perfect motivation for Saturday’s 1-0 success at Manchester United.
The Eagles keeper came on to replace Dean Henderson in the cup clash and within minutes was picking the ball out of the back of his net as Palace fell behind.
Roy Hodgson’s side went on to lose 3-0, but it was a very different story when the two clubs met again at the same venue in the Premier League when Joachim Anderson’s stunning strike sealed a 1-0 win.
A former Palace boss famously introduced the word bouncebackability into the football lexicon and Johnstone believes there was plenty of that on display at the weekend.
He said: “We put a great team performance in, stuck to our plan and we got the rewards.
“It wasn’t going to be easy at a place like this.
“They’re a good team and (have) good players. But we worked really hard and the result went our way, which was brilliant.
“It was a weird one, coming here on Tuesday and then again on a Saturday.
“But we probably didn’t put the correct performance in on Tuesday and we wanted to put that behind us, put it right and show everyone that we’re a better team than we showed on Tuesday.
“We worked hard. The lads dug in.“It was tough but we got the result, which makes it better.”
Johnstone and Palace’s rearguard were collectively called into action more than once to keep United at bay, something they successfully managed to achieve.
The former United keeper hailed the team effort but also made a point of singling out goal hero Anderson.
He said: “There were great blocks, great saves, great clearances, a good goal from Joa and a great result.
“If Joa can do that every week we’ll all be happy.
“Everyone knows how good he is with the ball at his feet and his technique.
“He stuck to the plan and dug in and held out for the rest of the game.
“I haven’t been back here very often since I left and it’s nice to come here, make a couple of saves and get a good result.”
Crystal Palace manager Hodgson made it five Premier League games unbeaten at the Theatre of Dreams, with Saturday’s triumph a third straight victory.
“I am happy about that record,” the SE25 boss said.
“But what I am most happy about is the way the team played.”
