BY ANDREW MCSTEEN
Former Crystal Palace striker Clinton Morrison believes his old club will prove a test for Manchester City in the FA Cup final after an impressive performance dispatched Aston Villa in the semis.
Champions League quarter-finalists Villa were outplayed throughout the 90 minutes at Wembley at the end of last month.
Ismaila Sarr collected a second-half double with a wonder goal from Ebere Eze opening the scoring in the 33rd minutes.
Despite a missed penalty from Jean-Philippe Mateta after the Eze goal, Oliver Glasner’s side stood strong with England goalkeeper Dean Henderson making crucial saves to confirm just the third FA Cup final in the history of the club after losing appearances in 1990 and 2016.
“It’s a great feeling, an unbelievable performance,” Morrison told the South London Press. “We missed some big chances and it could have been five or six on another day.
“It was a tactical battle and cagey in the first half-an-hour. Unai Emery (Villa boss) is one of the best around, but Glasner matched him.
“The players have been outstanding. Eze – those things he can do with the football and his goal, it sets up Wembley. He’s unbelievable.”
After signing from Watford last August, Senegalese striker Sarr has racked up 11 goals, scoring five against Villa in the Premier League, EFL Cup and
FA Cup this season, plus seven assists, including the pass to Eze for the opener at Wembley.
“Ismaila Sarr was unplayable against Villa, over the last two or three months he’s been outstanding,” said Morrison. “I hold my hands up and say there were times where I doubted him, but he’s been brilliant. His finishes for his two goals today were ice cool, super-composed.
“His work-rate off the ball is fantastic. It was a fantastic performance and huge credit to Ismaila.”
Morrison is also keen to point out the crucial input from the Palace defence, a defence which has only conceded one goal in their five FA Cup games.
“The backline were brilliant, the back five were fantastic and Deano (Henderson) – I include him in a six,” said the 45-year-old. “Dean made a big save from (Ezri) Konsa in the first half, and then the (Lucas) Digne one in the second half was fantastic – it was going right into the bottom corner. It’s a brilliant save, fantastic.
“But the whole team were brilliant in defence and it was a fantastic performance. You need to be good when you’re playing against Aston Villa as they have been brilliant this season, so credit to them.”
Morrison is full of confidence that the South London side can put up a good fight as they aim to win their first major silverware.
“It doesn’t matter who it is, because on any given day, we can give anyone a good game like that,” he explained.
“You see the Palace fans? They were fantastic. Tell me a better set of fans that you’re going to see at Wembley.”
Related stories