AZ were comfortably beaten by English Premier League side Crystal Palace on Thursday evening in the UEFA Conference League. The Alkmaarders lost 3-1, with luck being the only thing that kept the home side from scoring more at Selhorst Park.
Palace, who won the English FA Cup to qualify for the competition, created their first chance in the 11th minute. A long ball was headed back into the box by Chris Richards and taken on the chest by Ismaila Sarr before his volley hit the goalpost.
The home side was awarded a penalty a few minutes later. A through ball by Yeremy Pino found Sarr by Rome-Jayden Owusu-Oduro. Jean-Philippe Mateta, who has a good record from penalties, saw his effort saved by Owusu-Oduro.
Oliver Glazer’s side responded to the penalty miss by peppering the AZ goal with shots. First, Owusu-Oduro made a fantastic save to stop a good header from Sarr, and then Will Hughes hit a looping volley which hit the crossbar seconds later.
This pressure led to the first goal for the home side a few minutes later. A long ball into the box was nodded down by Sarr to center back Maxine Lacroix, whose volley was low and hard into the corner.
AZ tested the Palace keeper Dean Henderson for the first time in injury time of the first half. Sven Mijnans hit a decent shot from outside the area, which the 28-year-old knocked away from the corner.
This came a minute before Palace doubled their lead. It was clear that AZ’s young defense was struggling with Palace’s aerial prowess, and this led to the second goal. The home side won several duels in the box before the ball dropped to Sarr, who prodded it home from close range to make it 2-0.
AZ got a goal back in the 64th minute. Kees Smit showed some great skill to set up the attack and then play the pass to Mijnans, whose shot was deflected into the goal off a Palace defender.
This did not last long as Glasner’s side restored their two-goal cushion almost immediately from kick-off. Mateta played a great through ball to Sarr, who finished the chance coolly for 3-1.
AZ were fortunate that Mateta, who has scored six goals in 10 league games this season, was struggling with his finishing on the night. The French international was given another golden opportunity to get on the scoresheet when Sarr sent him through on goal, but the striker got it all wrong, dragging the shot wide of the goal.
The Alkmaarders are currently 27th in the Conference League table. The top eight guarantees a bye to the last 16, with 12th to 24th is enough for a spot in the playoffs.