Henderson calls for calm as pressure mounts on Glasner after Conference League draw

Crystal Palace Captain Dean Henderson called for unity after a section of his supporters turned on head coach Oliver Glasner following the club's 1-1 draw against Zrinjski Mostar in the first leg of their first leg tie. Europa League Conference playoffs.

The Eagles have won just one of their last 15 matches in all competitions, a difficult run which has overshadowed the second anniversary of Glasner's appointment.

Despite significant success during his time at Selhurst Park – including FA Cup and Community Shield triumphs and an unbeaten record – the frustration among the traveling supporters was clear in Bosnia as chants of “sacked in the morning” were heard at full time.

Ismaila Sarr had put Palace ahead two minutes before the break, but they struggled to control the game thereafter and were punished when Karlo Abramovic fired past Henderson to leave the game tied ahead of the second leg in south London.

Henderson, who recently took over as captain following the departure of Marc Guehi, called for calm and insisted the team still believed they could progress.

He told TNT Sports: “It's about keeping our spirits up. We've been through tough times before and we've come out the other end. There's always light at the end of the tunnel, so we have to rally around each other.

“The team spirit is growing. We have new players and new energy, which is good. We need to play with more confidence and not let sadness take over us.

“It's not going to be easy. It's not going to be given to us. We can't expect to win three times, 4-0. It's that simple. We have to learn from it.”

The match itself could have been even worse for Palace, with Zrinjski briefly believing they had a late penalty after an alleged handball from Daniel Munoz, only for referee Manfredas Lukjancukas to overturn the decision following a VAR review due to a foul earlier in the move.

Glasner admitted his disappointment with the way his team let control slip away.

He said: “I'm a bit disappointed because after controlling the match we lost the momentum too easily due to our own mistakes.

“It made things more difficult than they should have been. At halftime of the draw we are tied and we need to raise our level. Zrinjski didn't surprise us, they played as we expected, very organized and physical. I expect a similar game to the second leg with deep blocking and transitions.”