LONDON -- Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner said the defeat to Cypriot side AEK Larnaca in the Conference League will serve as a reminder for his side to stay humble.
Palace were beaten by Larnaca on their major European bow at Selhurst Park, with Riad Balic scoring the only goal of the game with a stunning finish soon after the break.
It was a frustrating night for the south London side, who were let down by their errant finishing. They amassed 15 shots but just one of them was on target. Larnaca, meanwhile, scored with one of their two shots on goal.
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While Palace will rue not being able to beat a side that are currently fifth in the Cypriot league, Glasner believes it's an experience they will learn from.
"We're always preparing for the opposition and they're always playing a different way. So yes, it's definitely what we have to learn, " Glasner, whose side won their Conference League opener against Dynamo Kiev earlier this month, told a news conference.
"And I said to the players ... maybe it's for the whole environment because you are always told when you play in the Premier League, you win the Conference League. [I always say] stay humble. So I don't know if there [have been] any debutants to win a competition.
"So on the other side, I have experience, when we played the first time with Frankfurt in the Champions league, we lost the first game against Sporting Lisbon at home. And then everybody told us 'ah Champions League, it's not the level you can play.' And then we went into the round of 16.
"So yes, we will learn from it. The players will learn. I know this group, I know these players. And again, it's disappointing, it's a frustrating night. And on the other side again, maybe we needed it [the loss] ... the whole environment, needed it to stay humble."
It's a sentiment that was shared by Palace captain Marc Guéhi.
"This is all good, this is all good. You get to learn. It's a new experience for the football club. Hopefully we have more experiences wjere we can grow from these games and these competitions, " he told TNT Sports.
When asked what the biggest takeaway from the game was, he said: "Staying calm in difficult situations. Not just us, but every single person in the stadium, all of us can learn from that and staying calm and focusing on the task at hand. The better we can do that, the better we can move forward."