Ebere Eze said that Crystal Palace will respect the point after a battling display against Nottingham Forest – but revealed he felt a winner was coming in the closing minutes.
Eze struck a cool penalty on the hour mark to give Palace the lead – his tenth goal in all competitions this season, becoming the first Palace player since promotion in 2013/14 to register ten goals and ten assists in all competitions.
But Nottingham Forest were level just four minutes later when Murillo flicked on Neco Williams’ powerful strike beyond Dean Henderson.
Palace were the better side for the remainder of the game – but were unable to get the winning goal, Eze again going close when he rattled the crossbar with a long-range effort.
After the game, the Palace No. 10 told Sky Sports: “I think we had quite a few chances at the end. I thought we were going to take it at the end, but I think a point, we’ll take it.
“We’re positive, we know we put in a good performance today.
“We had quite a bit of time off, but I think the boys were top today to come back. It was a high emotion game a week ago, so to put in a performance like this today was important for us.”
Eze’s penalty came after a VAR intervention showed that Tyrick Mitchell was fouled by Forest keeper Matz Sels. Eze had missed his previous kick against Newcastle, but didn’t look nervous in the slightest as he tucked his spot kick away.
“I think the way I take pens is how I take them,” he added. “I’m always practicing, I’m always trying to learn how to improve. I knew I’d have to put more on it this time.
“I saw that he [Matz Sels] was still standing when I stopped, so I knew if I put enough power it was going to go in.
“Each penalty is different, goalkeepers try different techniques to try and save it. I’m always adapting, always trying to learn and understand how to improve this penalty, and I’ve found what works for me – so I’ll keep doing it as long as I’m practicing.”
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