JULIAN Speroni believes Crystal Palace left Old Trafford with their heads held high after Saturday’s 2-0 defeat at the hands of Manchester United.

Palace held their own against the champions until referee Jon Moss awarded the home side a controversial penalty for a foul on Ashley Young by Kagoshi Dikgacoi on the stroke of half-time.

But Dicgakoi’s sending off, and a 1-0 deficit after Robin Van Persie converted from the spot, made life very difficult for the newly-promoted side in the second half.

Speroni said: “I think it was harsh considering the penalty and sending off with seconds to go until half-time.

“We tried to live with it but in the end we couldn’t get anything out of the game but we should be proud of our performance.

“We were playing well and were solid at the back but all of a sudden we found ourselves 1-0 down and had to adjust everything.

“In the first half it took us a while to get used to the game and in the second half we played a lot better and managed to keep the ball a lot.

“It was harder with 10 men but we managed very well.

“We were solid and didn’t give them any space.”

Wayne Rooney put the result beyond doubt for United with his late free-kick but the Crystal Palace keeper thinks United were fortunate to be awarded the penalty in the first place, with the initial contact on Young taking place outside the penalty area.

Speroni added: “I wasn’t sure if it was a foul or not but I thought it was outside the box.

“I asked the linesman if he gave it but he said ‘no, it wasn’t me’.”

Follow @NewsShopperSprt on Twitter for live updates from Crystal Palace v Swansea City on Sunday (1.30pm).