Eagles Coach Hodgson Explains His Thinking Behind Not Starting Eze Vs Southampton

Crystal Palace coach Roy Hodgson has explained his reasoning for not handing a full debut to Eberechi Eze in his side's hard-fought 1-0 win against Southampton on Saturday evening.

The Anglo-Nigerian was lacking match practice ahead of the visit of the Saints, having picked up an injury that saw him pull out of the England squad for their European U21 Championship qualifiers against Kosovo and Austria.

"It was mainly because he has had so little game time. He came to us not having played in matches for Queens Park Rangers – not even, perhaps, having done the level of fitness work we or he would’ve liked because of course he was in the middle of transfer negotiations," Hodgson told Crystal Palace's official website.

"He came to us and did one session and then played from the start in a game on the Saturday [v Charlton Athletic] but got injured.

"He should’ve been going away with England but the injury meant he couldn’t do that.

"We’ve then had to wait until the start of this week to see him in some sort of training again.

"I knew this was going to be a very physical and tough game, therefore, I thought the best thing to do for the team and the club was to have him in reserve."

Eagles number 25 Eze showcased the qualities he possesses after coming off the bench to replace Schlupp in the 80th minute.

Igho Kingsley

Photo Credit : cpfc.co.uk