Crystal Palace were deprived of three points on Saturday afternoon as Luton Town netted a late equaliser, leaving pundit Shay Given unhappy with one element of Oliver Glasner’s side’s game management.
Oliver Glasner was moments away from securing his second win in charge of Crystal Palace on Saturday afternoon, with two points cruelly snatched by Luton Town in the dying embers.
After taking charge from Roy Hodgson last month, the Austrian made an exemplary start to life at Selhurst Park, beating Burnley 3-0 in his first fixture however, sunk back to reality last week.
A 3-1 loss away to Spurs dealt the former Eintracht Frankfurt boss his first defeat in charge and yesterday, he experienced his first draw.
How Crystal Palace drew against Luton Town
The Eagles allowed Rob Edwards’ side to play their football before taking the lead after 11 minutes and taking full control of the fixture.
A burst of pace and desire from Daniel Munoz caught Luton off guard for him to set up Jean-Philippe Mateta to net an outrageous goal to give the hosts an early advantage.
Recording 21 shots on goal to the Hatters’ nine, Palace threatened with positive passages of play however, their efforts resulted in earning just one point seconds before time.
Cauley Woodrow sent the away end into pandemonium as he netted a 96th-minute equaliser, seeing Glasner’s team denied the victory agonisingly close to the close of play.
What angered Shay Given about Crystal Palace’s performance vs Luton
Despite dominating in the final third and falling short seconds before time, Palace were criticised after the game for their inability to see the game out.
BBC pundit Shay Given shared his thoughts on the Eagles’ game management on BBC Final Score.
“What frustrates the life out of me, watching this, Crystal Palace are pushing in injury time, taking shots, why not take it in the corner?”
“One nil, see the game out, three points. They’re in a relegation fight, they’ve conceded in the last touch of the game, they have thrown away two points.”
The hosts’ game management certainly could have been better to ensure that Luton were denied chances in the dying embers, with the final passage of play handing the Hatters a vital point.
Just like last week and many times before this season, Palace were unable to secure the win despite going ahead in the fixture, giving Glasner a lot to work on when it comes to managing his players on the pitch when in an advantageous position.
Sitting eight points above the drop zone doesn’t exactly threaten relegation however, it isn’t where the South Londoners want to be in relation to their progression both as a club and as a squad.
