Sunday 30 November 2014 09:26, UK
Crystal Palace manager Neil Warnock praised his side's resilience after they survived a first-half onslaught from Swansea to hold on for a point at the Liberty Stadium.
Wilfried Bony gave the hosts a well-deserved 15th-minute lead but Palace levelled the game 10 minutes later when referee Martin Atkinson pointed to the penalty spot after Marouane Chamakh was fouled by Jonjo Shelvey.
Captain Mile Jedinak converted the spot kick and rejuvenated his side as they overcame Swansea’s early dominance to leave with a deserved point.
And Warnock was quick to praise his team's efforts, telling Sky Sports: "I’m absolutely happy with the result and the effort they put in after a terrible start that’s about as bad as I’ve seen us play in 15 minutes.
“We couldn’t keep the ball, we didn’t do anything and we looked chaotic but after that we re-grouped and I thought we did ever so well. We had some good chances really, after we had equalised I thought we had a very good chance.
“You’re always going to come under pressure - I watched Swansea batter Arsenal a couple of weeks ago so you know what you’re up against – but I thought we always looked a threat on the break.
“We went behind early on at Everton a few weeks ago and they battered us for 10 or 15 minutes. Then we got an equaliser and ended up winning that game and I thought there were opportunities today on the break to win the game if I’m honest.”
Palace were forced into an early change when James McArthur replaced the injured Dwight Gayle, and Warnock congratulated the midfielder for capitalising on a rare opportunity of first-team football.
“I decided to shove Chamakh further up there and I think it worked today,” Warnock added.
“McArthur was full of energy and he hasn’t played for a bit so he’s busting a gut to get in the team. I thought he did well both defensively and offensively. He created opportunities for Yannick [Bolasie] and Jason [Puncheon] early on.
“My team are a good group of lads who work hard and are organised. Yes they are limited - when you look at the money that is being spent elsewhere - but I think it’s great that the lads are doing what they’re doing.
“We’ve just got to keep that ticking on now. We don’t want to get carried away. It’s a great point today and the fans were brilliant coming all this way.”
