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- 'The lads were in the trenches' – Henderson lauds efforts of nine-man Palace
'The lads were in the trenches' – Henderson lauds efforts of nine-man Palace
The nine men of Crystal Palace held on to defeat Brighton on Saturday, their sixth win in their last seven matches in all competitions.
Dean Henderson described Crystal Palace's efforts as "phenomenal" after they became the first team in Premier League history to win a game after receiving two red cards.
Palace beat rivals Brighton 2-1 at Selhurst Park to continue their upward momentum under Oliver Glasner.
Jean-Philippe Mateta and Daniel Munoz struck either side of Danny Welbeck's equaliser, but the drama really started in the 78th minute.
Eddie Nketiah received his second yellow card for a reckless challenge, then Marc Guehi followed suit in the 90th minute.
Palace had to navigate close to 14 minutes of second-half stoppage time, though their task was helped when Brighton's Jan Paul van Hecke was also sent off for two bookable offences.
Palace goalkeeper Henderson told Premier League Productions of the win: "It was phenomenal. The lads were in the trenches at the end.
"Going down to nine men, you have to dig deep and build relationships. No one knew what positions they were playing, but they were throwing bodies in the way of shots.
"I'm speechless. It's fantastic. This fixture is massive for the fans. It means the same to us. We're delighted."
Glasner's team are now up to 11th in the table, while they have also completed their first league double over Brighton since 1932-33.
"It's a huge win for us. This win is for our fans. We know how important it is for the fans," Glasner said.
"This derby had everything you love about football. It's not good for a manager! I'm pretty exhausted, but it feels good.
"There was 12 minutes additional time, then you see 103 minutes, and you think 'come on, how long do we play?' Sometimes, we train nine against 10 and eight against 10. We fought and brought it home."
Saturday's game was the first in the Premier League to feature three red cards since April 2013, when Southampton had two players sent off and opponents West Brom had one.
Fabian Hurzeler was left to lament Van Hecke's late error, which halved Brighton's numerical advantage.
He told Premier League Productions: "It was very wild. We couldn't control it at the end, and we weren't able to find the right solution.
"The hunger was bigger from Crystal Palace. We made a silly mistake again and got the red card.
"We made too many easy mistakes. We weren't aggressive enough, the hunger wasn't there. Why? We have to analyse this."