Eagles ease through to last 16 of the Europa Conference League with win over Zrinjski Mostar

Selhurst Park

Crystal Palace 2-0 HSK Zrinjski Mostar

‘Here for the Road to Leipzig’

The billboards blazed a technicolour note of optimism around Selhurst Park.

If Crystal Palace do make it all the way to the RB Leipzig Stadium on 27 May, their fans will have largely forgotten about this particular juncture on an uninspiring journey. The Eagles had to rely on a brace of goals from Max Lacroix in the first half and anothere from Evann Guessand in added time to eke past Zrinjski Mostar, to prevail 3-1 on aggregate.

Oliver Glasner’s men were far more dominant than that statistic suggests, but that says more about the diffident Bosnians than it did about any searing class shown by the Londoners.

However Palace are now in the last 16 of the UEFA Conference League. The end justified the means of long period of tedium. German side Mainz or Laranca of Cyprus await.

This was, essentially, an encounter very reflective of the continent’s third tier tournament. Within, there was an obvious lack of real game-changing quality, not altogether surprising when you think of Crystal Palace, and their missteps of late on and off the pitch.

Then you had their opponents, Zrinjski, so shot shy across their ties away from home. All the Eagles had to do was improve on the disappointment of the opening leg draw in Mostar. Whether in earthy on elan manner, the evening was simply all about Glasner’s side getting a job done.

For HSK Zrinjski, they had a certain travel sickness as they approached south London. They may be the reigning champions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, but since qualifying for the Conference League for the first time in 2023, they have lost all six of their away games in the competition.

'Nobles'

The Plemići (The Nobles) stepped out at Selhurst Park with former West Ham United defender Igor Stimac in charge. A robust centre half, Croatian Stimac played 43 games for the Hammers between 1999-2001. And considering the off-field controversies stalking the Eagles this term, with the departure of boss Glasner at the end of the season – if, intriguingly, not before – Zrinjski should have had some hopes of prevailing, in the wake of the 1-1 draw in the first leg.

They had to improve on the desperate statistic of failing to score in any of their Euro away games in 2026-26, anf frankly there was no danger of this happening on a windy night in south London.

Meanwhile, central to the ongoing troubles which have surfaced at a club which landed last season’s FA Cup for the first time in their history, were just two wins in 16 appearances in all competitions. A sharp reminder to potentially encourage Zrinjski and their estimated 1,750-strong band of noisy followers.

Palace, for their part, fielded an attack minded line up. Glasner opted to start Evann Guessand up front, after the Ivorian’s late, late winning goal against Wolves in the Premier League last Sunday. Here he delivered again at appromimately the same time to conclude the contest on a relative high.

The hosts dominated possession for large chunks of the first half, but their goal threat was restricted to the occasional nibble from the likes of Daichi Kamada.

However attritional the fare was in the opening half an hour or so, the Eagles swooped to take the lead in the 35^th minute. And a perfectly executed goal it was, too. Adam Wharton swung in a free kick from an angled position on the left, and Lacroix, absolutely determined to be first to the ball amid a cluster of visiting defenders, steamed into the six yard box power home a header. A rare moment of inspiration.

The breakthrough was a relief to the Palace fans, mindful of recent events, where a run to the latter stages of the tournament remains very much in their sights. Germany in May, perhaps?

Adventurous

Palace started the second half in much the same fashion, trying to further prise open the Bosnians, who were on an extreme mission to opne up play and be adventurous. Stimac’s team had nothing to lose here, a goal down and on their way out of the Conference League – yet they remained firmly incapable of asserting themselves. Zrinjski were, at best, an organised unit and the south Londoners should have made significantly more capital for their territorial dominance.

Ironically, considering how tepid they were, Zrinjski actually had the ball in the net on a rare raid, only for Karlo Abramovic’s effort to be ruled out for offside. It was at least a warning to Palace not to become complacent.

Nevertheless, the Eagles’ energy levels marketedly dipped in the final quarter. Glasner sent on Brennan Johnson for Jorgen Strand-Larsen in the 73^rd minute for some freshness up front.

Ismaila Sarr and Guessand went close to doubling the lead towards the end, where it would have been deserved. A little gloss was splahed two minutes into additional time where Guessand, on a well timed run swept a right footed shot under Zrinjski keeper Goran Karacic.

That capped it for Glasner’s outfit. A simple, prosaic progression to the next stage will suffice for the Eagles.

Eagles: Henderson, Munoz, Mitchell, Lacroix, Sarr, Kamada, Wharton (Hughes 55), Strand-Larsen (Johsnon 73), Canvot, Richards, Guessand