Dean Henderson believes Crystal Palace’s humbling defeat to Cypriot side AEK Larnaca is a clear wake-up call for their European ambitions.
Despite being newbies to continental football, Palace have been tagged Conference League favourites, but their Selhurst Park curtain raiser ended in a sobering 1-0 defeat at the hands of a valiant AEK Larnaca side.
Palace dominated possession but managed only one shot on target, once again struggling to break down a deep block in their second defeat of the season.
Their inefficiency in possession was punished when Riad Bajic nestled a stunning strike into the top corner, capitalising on a costly mistake by teenage defender Jaydee Canvot.
Henderson Reflects on 'Disappointing' AEK Larnaca Loss
Dean Henderson
Reflecting on a sluggish performance, Eagles shot-stopper Henderson believes the FA Cup holders slipped to the level of the side fifth in the Cypriot top-flight, rather than imposing their own identity.
“They turned up, did the job and will be going home very happy while we are disappointed," said Henderson. “It’s a really disappointing night in the first European game at Selhurst. We should have won that game. There are no excuses.
“I’m not being funny, we should be beating the team in front of us. For one reason or another, it didn’t happen. We have to do better, it is as simple as that. We take it on the chin and move on. We don’t dwell on it at all.
“Maybe it is a bit of a reality check, but we didn’t take it for granted. The intensity could have been higher and we dropped to their level, certainly in the first half. The words were to go out in the first 20 minutes and play at our tempo – I’m not sure we really did that. I thought we wasted 45 minutes playing slowly around the back and sometimes that can bite you on the backside.”
Canvot, who joined Palace from Toulouse in the summer, gifted AEK Larnaca three points after disastrously passing the ball across his own goal under pressure from two yellow shirts, allowing Marcus Rohden to intercept and find Bajic.
However, England international Henderson took responsibility for playing the initial pass into a risky area and encouraged the Frenchman to keep his head up.
“Jaydee is top, he will be a top player for us in the future,” said Henderson. “He is phenomenal and has tremendous attributes. I was trying to tell him that I take responsibility for giving him the ball, so hopefully I get the blame for it and not him. We want him to keep his confidence high, he is going to be brilliant. There is nothing for him to worry about.”