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Hodgson: Why I ordered Zaha to retake Ayew's penalty vs Manchester United
The Crystal Palace boss clarified on why he ordered the Cote d’Ivoire international to retake the kick initially missed by the Ghanaian on Saturday
Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson has explained why he asked Wilfried Zaha to retake Jordan Ayew’s penalty in Saturday’s 3-1 triumph over Manchester United.
In the famous win at Old Trafford, Andros Townsend gave the Eagles a first-half lead thanks to his seventh minute lead courtesy of Jeffrey Schlupp’s assist.
With less than 20 minutes left to play, the visitors were handed a penalty by referee Martin Atkinson after Ayew’s flick struck the Victor Lindelof’s hand.
David de Gea saved Ayew’s softly struck penalty, only for a retake to be ordered by VAR as the Spain international stepped off his line. Zaha stepped up to smash the ball high into the net as Selhurst Park giants raced to a two-goal lead.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men pulled one back through substitute Donny van de Beek in the 80th minute, while the Cote d’Ivoire sealed victory with five minutes left to play.
Speaking after the game, the former England, Liverpool and West Bromwich Albion boss revealed why he called for another player to then step-up, reminding how a similar situation with a previous club changed his approach.
"I don’t think it’s good for a player to miss a penalty and then to immediately take another one. I think your confidence is affected by the miss,” Hodgson told club website.
“It wasn’t a good penalty, it was quite a comfortable save by De Gea and I’m pretty sure if I had allowed him to take the penalty, he might well have scored it. But I didn’t think it was a good idea to take that chance.
"I had an experience long in the past where our penalty taker - who never missed penalties - missed two in the same game in a European tie and ever since that moment I’ve thought it’s not a great idea to have the guy who’s missed take the second one."
Palace, with two wins from two in the English topflight far, tackle fellow fast starters Everton next on Saturday, while the Red Devils go to Luton Town in the English Football League Cup on Tuesday before getting back to Premier League action when they face Brighton and Hove Albion.
