In a similar manner to our opening home league phase fixture against AEK Larnaca a fortnight ago, Palace created plenty of opportunities in front of the Selhurst Park faithful – even having a penalty saved in the first-half – but, unlike against the Cypriot team, managed to eventually force a breakthrough through Maxence Lacroix.
A further brace from Ismaïla Sarr gave Palace the additional breathing space – and three points – their performance ultimately deserved, and Glasner was pleased to see his players remain persistent in their search of goals in South London.
“A great atmosphere and a great European night here at Selhurst Park,” was his assessment, speaking to Palace TV. “It was a very good result, important result against a strong Alkmaar team, to be honest.
“But that’s what we expected. I think two years ago they played in the semi-finals of the Conference League, so they’re a good team, and we could see especially the first 10 to 15 minutes we looked a little bit surprised – we’d talked about it – about their intensity.
“Then after 10 or 15 minutes, we brought the game more into their half, more into the final third. And I think in the first-half, then we dominated with our physicality, with set plays. And even after we missed the penalty, we really stayed focused and strong.
“It looked at the beginning like a typical Conference League game – like last time against Larnaca, missing chances. But today we did really well to show resilience and always keep going. That's what I liked, and that helped us.
“We had, I think, a deserved lead at half-time. We spoke about it – I think we could have done a little bit better with our front three, they pressed us man-to-man, we didn't have really good movements, we lost the balls a little bit too easily.
“In one situation we did it really well, JP \[Mateta\] protected the ball, and then we know we have the runs and then it was an excellent pass and a great finish of Isma – and then I think we controlled the game.
“A very important three points. Now, having six points looks good – and now it's focus on Brighton \[on Sunday\].”