BY MAX HALL
Dean Henderson’s penalty-saving heroics on Saturday did not come as a surprise to everyone in the squad with Crystal Palace goalkeeper’s revealing his deputy Remi Matthews has a telepathic streak.
The 28-year-old saved Manchester City striker Omar Marmoush’s first-half penalty to maintain the Eagles’ 1-0 lead.
Henderson made a number of vital stops as Palace won the first piece of major silverware in their history.
“Remi actually said to me in my room: ‘You’re going to have a worldie today and you’re going to save a penalty’ so it just shows talking it into existence can make it come true,” said the former Manchester United player.
“I just said ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah. I will, yeah’. When Marmoush got the ball I thought ‘he’s right! It’s happening!’”
Henderson survived a heart-stopping moment midway through the first half when he denied Erling Haaland by swatting the ball away outside the area – the offence went unpunished after a VAR review.
The England international went on to push aside Marmoush’s spot-kick.
Henderson claimed afterwards he did not know what all the fuss was about, stating: “I actually, genuinely thought Haaland was inside the box.
“I was waiting for the ball to skip up off the turf because normally it’s wet out there, but obviously the sun dried it up. But it was going away from goal anyway, so I’m not so sure what the problem was.”
While the millions watching probably expected Haaland to take the spot-kick, Henderson said his pre-match preparations – not to mention Matthews’ psychic talent – prepared him to face Egyptian international Marmoush’s penalty.
“We did our homework this morning,” said Henderson. “He hasn’t actually taken a penalty for City but we know that he beats keepers for pace, on that side.
“We knew that if I could move a second early, I might have a chance of saving it, which I did. He hit it well and thankfully I kept it out.”
Henderson said the FA Cup win marked the pinnacle of his career.
“You think about it and it’s not just two years’ work – personally it’s 24 years,” he explained. “I’m an Englishman, I know what the FA Cup means, it’s actually phenomenal. To do it with Crystal Palace is even better and it’s so difficult to win even if you’re a top side.
“We’re trying to build something here. When I signed the chairman spoke to me about the team and said he wanted to build another stand on the side of the stadium. But he needs the players to build that stand and we’ve got the manager to build that stand.
“South Croydon is the largest catchment area for fans and we’re trying to inspire another generation. Hopefully this is just the start for us. The fans have been phenomenal, they deserved this day.”
“As players you invest so much into it that it’s like a weight lifted off your shoulders, coming off the pitch. Actually winning, you sort of just want to enjoy the moment and see how it goes.”
The Palace number one was quick to compliment boss Oliver Glasner, who kept faith with his players after an underwhelming start to the campaign.
“He’s just different class,” said Henderson. “When we were struggling at the start of the season, he was quite easy on us, to be fair, but the better we do, the harder he is on us.”
The Eagles now face the prospect of Europa League football next season.
Henderson said: “That was the aim, in fairness, at the start of the season. We’ve done it the hard way, really. We left it down to one game.
“Thankfully we’ve managed to do the job because we were disappointed with the start of the season, of course we were.
“With the ability we’ve got in the squad we should have been higher in the league. The run we’ve been on for the last two or three months has been phenomenal really, when you look at it, but we left ourselves too much to do in the league. To do it this way is probably the best way to do it.”
The Cumbrian admitted he was feeling mixed emotions at the end of the game, after losing his father Dougie in July.
He said: “I’m looking for him at the end. I’m a bit flat now because he can’t be here and he can’t see that but I genuinely, really believe he was there with me today, kicking every ball.
“My neighbour actually sent me a video of the grave and said that she’ll be listening to it on the radio with him today – that means the world to me. I’m so delighted.”
MAIN PICTURE: ALAMY
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