Glasner backs Uche to shine at Palace

Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner believes Christantus Uche has turned a corner after the midfielder scored his first goal for the club in their 3-0 Conference League victory over Shelbourne on Wednesday night.

The 22-year-old Nigerian, on loan from Getafe, played his first full 90 minutes for Palace at Tallaght Stadium and impressed his manager with a blistering performance.

The goal came just 11 minutes into the match when captain Marc Guéhi started a fine move that saw Eddie Nketiah set up Uche, who crashed home a clinical finish.

Uche’s performance was particularly significant as he had been excluded from Eric Chelle’s final 28-man AFCON squad earlier that day.

Palace had previously considered sending the versatile midfielder back to Getafe after a difficult settling-in period, but his recent resurgence has shifted internal opinions.

“Christantus deserved it. He showed up against Fulham (last game). He showed he can help us, and he can score goals. That is now for him, maybe the starting moment at Crystal Palace,” Glasner told TNT Sports.

“For the strikers, the goals are always important. All three who played up front scored a goal, so hopefully this gives him some confidence. It was a good performance from him.”

Uche nearly doubled his tally in the 72nd minute when he weaved past two defenders with exquisite footwork but fired over.

The Austrian manager had previously mentioned that the Nigerian’s struggles at Selhurst Park were due to the starting eleven being hard to break into.

His AFCON omission remains one of the biggest surprises of the squad announcement. The on-loan Getafe ace can operate as a central midfielder, attacking midfielder, second striker or centre-forward.

Nigeria coach Eric Chelle has instead opted for the midfield trio of Wilfred Ndidi, Alex Iwobi, Frank Onyeka and Raphael Onyedika, complemented by newcomers Usman Muhammed and Tochukwu Nnadi.