Crystal Palace’s hopes of a direct path to the knockout stages of the Europa Conference League were dashed on Thursday night, as a 2-2 draw with Finnish champions KuPS consigned them to a playoff round in February.
Manager Oliver Glasner had rotated his squad heavily, fielding a youthful side featuring four teenagers. The strategy initially paid dividends, with striker Christantus Uche opening the scoring with a superb first-half curler. However, the match turned after the break, as the visitors struck twice in three minutes through Piotr Parzyszek and an Ibrahim Cissé deflection to take a shock lead.
Palace was handed a reprieve when KuPS midfielder Clinton Antwi was dismissed for a dangerous foul, and substitute Justin Devenny headed home a late equalizer to salvage a point. Despite frantic late pressure, a winning goal proved elusive.
The result means Palace finishes ninth in the group stage, setting up a two-legged playoff tie next month against either Bosnian side Zrinjski or Czech club Sigma Olomouc. This extends an already congested fixture schedule for the South London club.
Glasner defended his team selection, prioritizing Saturday’s Premier League clash with Leeds, and praised the debuts of teenage defenders George King and Dean Benamar. He acknowledged the playoff outcome was a risk of the rotation but emphasized the club’s ambition to compete on all fronts.
“We wanted to go straight through, but we knew this was a possibility,” Glasner stated. “We embrace the challenge. A busy schedule is what we want—it means we are progressing in competitions.”
While the playoff provides another hurdle, it also offers the club’s supporters the prospect of adding a new destination to their inaugural European tour.