A historic night for Crystal Palace and a historic night for teenager David Ozoh – one he will quite simply never forget.
At the tender age of just 17 years, eight months and 15 days – born on May 6th 2005 – Ozoh’s late substitute appearance in the 0-0 draw with Newcastle United marks him out as Palace’s youngest-ever Premier League player.
The teenager surpassed the record of forward George Ndah, who was 17 years, 11 months and five days old when he played against Liverpool in November 1992.
On the achievement, a beaming Ozoh told Palace TV: “It means a lot. You put in all the hard work for this moment. It’s a dream come true. I can’t believe it – it’s honestly the best feeling ever.
“When I got told to warm-up I was nervous, but when I got on, I felt good and obviously just tried to play it simple, make a few passes and grow into the game.
“Honestly, coming on in this game was crazy. It was a game that we really wanted to win, and to be put on in this type of game shows how much trust the manager has in me, so I’m really pleased.”
Watch the full Palace TV interview above to find out what manager Patrick Vieira told Ozoh; how his family, friends and even schoolteachers reacted – and whether the teenager has dared check his phone yet!
