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Francis: We defended poorly

Last updated : 23 September 2002 By PalaceMAD
Palace twice let slip a one goal lead and probably had the better chances to win the game, particularly when Andrew Johnson headed against the crossbar, but the Eagles were forced to hang on to some degree for the last 15 minutes after Wayne Routledge had been harshly dismissed for a second yellow card.

However, it was the defending which caused most concern to Palace boss Francis.

"It's disappointing because this season, one of our strong points has been the quality of our defending, but today we defended poorly." Francis told the club's website

As for the red card for Routledge, Francis said: "I asked the referee for an explanation and he said the reason for the red card was a shirt pull by Wayne.

"He must have been three yards from the touchline and I ask the question 'was it necessary to send a guy off there?'. He wasn't gaining an advantage. I accept it but I don't agree with it."