Wharton pinpoints lessons from Conference League debut
Adam Wharton says Crystal Palace will take the lessons they can from our first-ever Conference League fixture on Thursday night, but also says his team can be satisfied to have come away with victory in that context.
The England international was one of a number of Palace players who saw plenty of the ball in the Fredrikstad half at Selhurst Park in a first leg in which the Eagles dominated possession and chances against the Norwegians’ low block, scoring once and hitting the post twice.
With a 1-0 win to take to Fredrikstad Stadion for the second leg, Wharton told Palace TV: “It was difficult. Obviously, they've got a gameplan, try and stay compact, make it difficult for us to play through them and create chances. They limited our chances, but we created a few and then we got the goal, which ultimately decides the game.
“We're happy with the 1-0 win. Obviously, there's a lot to work on to create more chances, because in this competition I think there's going to be a lot of games like that where teams try and stay compact, be hard to beat. It's a game for us to learn from, but we take it into next week.
“I think in these games if you don't score in the first five or 10 minutes, then you're almost always waiting for the goal. When we got in at half-time, it was just ‘keep doing the same things, keep creating chances and eventually there's going to be a gap or we'll get that half a yard to get the shot’.
“JP [Mateta] took the goal very well. We're happy with the win, but like I said, it's just one of them. You've got to keep working and eventually you'll get the goal.”
We're going there to win and to get into the Conference League group stage
—Adam Wharton
Before Palace head to Fredrikstad Stadion next Thursday (28th August, 17:00 BST kick-off), they must first take on Nottingham Forest in their first home Premier League match of the season this Sunday (24th, 14:00 BST).
Wharton noted: “The atmosphere was great tonight, first European night at Selhurst. You always knew it was going to be like that, and I'm sure they'll bring the same atmosphere on Sunday and hopefully we can get the same result again and win.
“[Travelling to Norway] will be a different experience for, I'm pretty sure, most of the players. I think it’s AstroTurf – a different surface, different atmosphere – but it'll be the same.
“We're going there to win and to get into the Conference League group stage. Nothing will change in that sense, but we take the 1-0 and hopefully we can build on it.”