March 20, (THEWILL) — Ismaila Sarr’s extra time goal sent Crystal Palace into the UEFA Conference League quarter-finals, following a 2-1 second-leg victory over AEK Larnaca.
Sarr broke the deadlock in the 13th minute, collecting a deflected pass from Adam Wharton before rounding the goalkeeper to finish. Maxence Lacroix spurned a good opportunity on the stroke of half-time, heading straight at the goalkeeper from within the six-yard box, while Sarr also missed the target on two occasions after the interval.
The contest shifted sharply after the hour mark. Enric Saborit drew Larnaca level with a powerful header from Marcus Rohden’s corner, only to be dismissed shortly afterwards for fouling Sarr with a second bookable offence.
Reduced to 10 men, Larnaca held firm to force extra time. Sarr settled the contest in the 99th minute, sweeping home from Daichi Kamada’s low cross to restore Palace’s lead.
The closing stages were not without incident. A handball decision against Jean-Philippe Mateta was overturned by VAR, prompting home supporters to throw cups onto the pitch. Petros Ioannou was then shown a straight red card for a rough challenge on Mateta, leaving the hosts with nine men for the rest of the game. Palace will face Serie A club Fiorentina in the quarter-finals.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
