Wednesday 28 October 2015 23:41, UK
Alan Pardew acknowledged Manchester City were worthy winners over Crystal Palace in the Capital One Cup, but was disappointed his side did not take their chances.
City ran out 5-1 winners in the fourth-round clash at the Etihad, with Damien Delaney heading in a late consolation for the visitors.
While Palace were largely second-best, Joe Ledley, Wilfried Zaha, Patrick Bamford and Delaney were all guilty of missing presentable opportunities.
"I was really disappointed we didn't take the chances we created," Pardew told Sky Sports. "They were three or four moments at crucial times. You have to take those."
Palace made six changes from their Premier League defeat to Leicester at the weekend, with Bamford leading the line and Jordon Mutch also starting.
The defeat to City is their third loss in a row in all competitions and up next they face Manchester United and Liverpool in the league.
"It was a tough night for us, we were short of players, maybe the balance of the team wasn't right and I have to take some responsibility for that," said Pardew.
"We deserved to be beat. We were a bit short and we need to strengthen and get some bodies back for Saturday."
Pardew made a special point of applauding the travelling fans after the final whistle and said: "It was not so much an apology, but a thank you. We need to make sure we keep our fans with us.
"I know some of the fans had trouble getting here, so we'd like to say thank you and I hope we can repay them later in the season."
