Dean Henderson dedicated Crystal Palace’s first major trophy in their history to his late father after tempers flared with Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola at the end of a pulsating FA Cup final.
Eberechi Eze was the goalscoring hero in the 1-0 win at Wembley but Henderson’s stellar performance – not least saving Omar Marmoush’s first-half penalty – stole the show.
City insisted that Henderson should have been sent off for denying a goalscoring opportunity when handling outside his box, while Guardiola was left frustrated by Palace time-wasting.
Dougie Henderson died last July and had coached his son’s first amateur team, Whitehaven Miners, before hardly missing an academy game at Manchester United and subsequent moves elsewhere.
‘I lost my dad at the start of the season,’ the Palace goalkeeper said. ‘But he was with me today. He was with me in every kick of the game. I dedicate that win to him.
‘We were incredible today. We had a feeling it would be our day. The manager got a gameplan and we executed it. We deserve this so much.’
Dean Henderson clashed on the pitch with Pep Guardiola after full time at Wembley
Henderson dedicated Crystal Palace’s FA Cup win to his late father
It could have all been very different after he handled the ball outside his penalty area in the first half, but Henderson escaped a red card
Henderson then claimed that Guardiola refused to shake his hand on the pitch during a brief exchange.
‘I went to shake his (Guardiola’s) hand,’ he added. ‘I think he was disappointed with the time wasting but (I said) I think you got your 10 minutes (stoppage time). No hard feelings.’
Addressing claims that he should have seen red in the first half, Henderson told BBC Sport: ‘The ball carried into my box and I knew it was fine,’ before adding: ‘Who cares!?’
Guardiola claimed that the time-wasting is not something he would instruct City to do.
‘He (Henderson) defended his position, we defend our position,’ the Catalan said. ‘It’s English football. Everyone can do whatever they want. We have to score goals. We didn’t lose because Henderson did that.
‘But it’s a question of rhythm. When Barcelona play, they attack and the other team attacks and it’s beautiful. But it’s a question of the referee. My teams never try it because I try to play the game that the people deserve to watch. Saying that, congratulations to Henderson and Palace because they defended really well and we were not able to score a goal.’
Palace chairman Steve Parish lauded Oliver Glasner for masterminding the victory, Palace going one step further than finishing runners up in 2016.
‘We owed them (the fans) a trophy and we got them one,’ Parish said. ‘All the people that stick with you and believe, it is for them.
Eagles stopper Henderson survived a VAR check and was allowed to stay on the pitch
Henderson made six saves in Saturday’s 1-0 win over City, including one from a penalty kick
Henderson spoke to the BBC after full-time and dedicated Palace’s famous win to his late dad
Oliver said I’m fed up of finishing second so he came here with a different mentality. It’s great for the cup as well, come on. I’m not drinking but there are a lot of people trying to get me back on it.’
Glasner side registered just two shots on target and 21 per cent possession, soaking pressure to secure a famous win.
‘I spoke to the fourth official (after 10 minutes went up for stoppage time) and said eight would be enough and he said we were lucky with 10,’ Glasner said.
‘Today was our day, the day for Palace. It was such an effort. I can’t believe it, we had to defend so much. It’s such a special stadium. Everybody could feel this atmosphere.
‘The spirit and togetherness on the pitch was amazing. We had to be patient, let them cross, defend and wait for the moment to attack.
‘City are so good in their movements, from the 5-2 defeat we learned that if you give them the pocket we will lose. When they play with four attacking players it’s difficult to defend, but in transition we knew we could create overloads. No winger likes to defend. It was a great goal.
‘Sunday’s training is already cancelled. The players want to cancel Monday too. Special credit to the players, they’ve never lost belief in me and the coaching staff. I had the feeling through the season that we could achieve special things.’
Glasner added: ‘You can see now when you’re patient as a club. Three points after eight games, usually the fans get impatient and complain. Our fans always supported us.
Guardiola attempted to play down the spat with Henderson after watching his side lose a second successive FA Cup final
Oliver Glasner hailed his side’s ‘spirit and togetherness’ after delivering Palace’s first trophy
‘In difficult moments you need support. Not somebody who kicks you, somebody who hugs you. It’s why it’s special for us and our fans. This is fundamental to achieving impossible things.
‘We gave part of south London the moment of their lives. Hours and days where they forget their problems. This is the biggest achievement that sportsmen can do.’
Guardiola refused to answer questions on Stuart Attwell and the VAR’s decision not to send Henderson off. And the City manager admitted surprise that Erling Haaland didn’t step up to take first-half penalty – claiming the Norwegian and Marmoush sorted it out themselves.
‘I thought he would want to take it,’ Guardiola said. ‘These are things for them. They decided Omar was ready to take it. Omar took a lot of time (holding) the ball and so it put more pressure on him.’
