The bad news for Oliver Glasner is that Crystal Palace’s marathon season is about to get even longer. A thrilling draw against Finnish side KuPS in their 27th game of the campaign means that they must now contest a two-leg playoff at the end of February after finishing outside the top eight in the Conference League table.
Having selected an entirely different starting lineup that included four teenagers from the side that lost to Manchester City at the weekend, Glasner saw his second string impress as Christantus Uche gave them a deserved lead at half-time.
But it needed a late equaliser from Justin Devenny to salvage a draw after they conceded two goals in the space of three minutes after the break, with the Northern Irishman and Eddie Nketiah coming closest to snatching the victory in stoppage time.
Palace will play either Bosnia’s Zrinjski or the Czech side Sigma Olomouc in the playoffs. The draw will be in January, and the away leg will at least give their supporters the chance to enjoy more adventures on their first European tour.
Having rescheduled their Carabao Cup quarter-final against Arsenal for next week, Glasner has made no excuses for prioritising their Premier League game against Leeds on Saturday given they have less than 48 hours to recover for the trip to Elland Road. That meant debuts for teenage defenders George King and Dean Benamar, while 16-year-old winger Joel Drakes-Thomas became the fourth youngest player in Palace’s history and certainly impressed.
