It was another frustrating night for Crystal Palace in Europe on Thursday as AEK Larnaca held the Eagles to a 0-0 draw in SE25.
The side who sit third in the Cypriot First Division have only conceded once in the UEFA Conference League all season, and that defensive strength was on show as Oliver Glasner struggled to break Javi Rozada down.
It was a stop-start affair at Selhurst Park as Igor Pajac constantly halted the game for fouls we often see let go in the Premier League, and Adam Wharton feels Brennan Johnson could have won a penalty from the Croatian had he made more of a challenge inside the box.
Adam Wharton says Brennan Johnson could have played the referee to win a penalty
The England international accused Pajac of being far too easy to trick, claiming Larnaca players were able to get what they wanted just by screaming after a challenge.
Wharton – who Yeremy Pino admires – felt Johnson could have used that weakness to his advantage, after the Wales international was shoved inside the box but opted to try and stay on his feet.
The Crystal Palace No.20 is quoted by the News Shopper as saying: “The referees give fouls for pretty much nothing (in European football).
“You can’t be physical and get into them. If you do, they’ll fall over, scream and get a foul…They’re an experienced team. They’ve got some older players, and they know how to get a foul by being loud and falling over.
“We could have done that a couple of times. There was a time when Brennan could have gone down and probably got a penalty, because if he shouts loud enough for the referee, he’ll give it.”
It is quite clear that Crystal Palace are playing their first European campaign in history.
As Wharton suggests, there is a distinct lack of know-how within the squad in terms of understanding how to play the officials in UEFA competitions compared to the Premier League.
The Eagles, who made a change to Selhurst Park before Larnaca came to visit, only have four wins from nine games in the UEFA Conference League so far this season along with three draws, so Glasner needs to spark some serious improvement from his side to book a place in the quarter-finals.
