Crystal Palace boss Patrick Vieira was pleased with their FA Cup win against Stoke City.
Stoke pushed Palace all the way before losing 2-1.
Vieira said, “That’s what we expected. It was really tough. It was a cup tie and we had to work hard to get the win.
“It was really flat [in the first half]. We wanted to play better than we did. They made it hard for us and we couldn’t pass the ball quickly enough. It was a poor first half from our side.
“We needed to play more quickly from the back and move it quicker. We wanted to put more tempo and we managed to do it.
“We scored and then conceded straight away. Today we were a little bit flat and we found the strength to score the second goal.
“We have to give them a lot of credit. They played really well. We weren’t ready mentally for a cup tie and we found it difficult. We have to learn. We tried to change it in the second half, it was better.
“When we scored we thought the game was over but this is a cup tie.”
On fringe player Jairo Riedewald scoring the winner: “It’s about taking the opportunity when they have it. Jairo has been working hard and waiting for his opportunity. He came on at left-back and took his chance. That goal is important – it took us to the next round.
“We are excited to be in the next round. With the game we played today we know how difficult it will be. We just have to look at the draw and play better than what we did today if we want to go further.”
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