“It probably is – I’m just happy to get a goal to be honest,” he told Palace TV after the match. “I’m happy I can score for the team, but it is one of my best ones.
“It’s very frustrating because we feel like we’ve been here too many times. I feel like we’re good enough to win these games, and we should have won it today.
“Obviously me missing the penalty hurts even more because I feel like I could have won it for us. It’s a frustrating day, but we need to learn from this and put teams to bed.”
Despite an unfortunate miss from the penalty spot as the pitch gave way, Zaha says he will be ready the next time he is called upon.
“As I ran up I felt my left foot slip as I went to stand before shooting,” he explained. “As soon as I felt it go, I thought: ‘This is definitely not going to go where I want it to’.
“You’ve just got to get over it. In football you haven’t got time to cry about it. I was asked if I got another pen whether I would stand up and take it – 100 percent.
“I’ve got the confidence to go up and take it, and I’ve just got to make sure I score next time.”
Cutting in from the left-hand side to great effect, Zaha reserved particular praise for Tyrick Mitchell and Michael Olise in assisting his game.
“To be honest, that’s what I expect from T,” he said, after Mitchell’s two goal-saving interventions. “When I have conversations with him, we don’t even talk about his defensive aspect. I just tell him to be more confident going forwards because defensively he’s probably one of the best.
“Me having a conversation with him is never about defending, it’s just about going forwards, because I think he’s good enough.
“I feel like I have a good connection [with Olise] because even though he dribbles past a couple of players, he has that vision where he knows I’m on the far side open. I expect it from him.
“If I’m wide open, I expect him to see me and give it to me – and vice versa. If I’m running through, I’ll give it to him as well.”
