DOUGIE Freedman praised his Crystal Palace side’s never say die attitude after they came from behind to beat Coventry City in a dramatic finish at Selhurst Park.
Despite dominating their opponents, the Eagles found themselves a goal down early on in the second half after Julian Speroni fumbled a Cyrus Christie cross into his own net via Lukas Jutkiewicz.
But as the end neared and frustration among the home fans grew, Sean Scannell popped up in the 90th minute to smash home an equaliser before Jermaine Easter tapped in the winner with the last kick of the game.
A proud Freedman said: “We had fantastic energy throughout with a desire to score goals and get forward. It was a real credit to the lads.
“We've got a spirit that’s been built up through the likes of McCarthy and Speroni that we never see die.
“It is now getting spread through the squad with the new players and the younger ones.
“My thinking as a football player, winning or losing, is that you have to keep on going until the end and that's what we did.
“The character was there to see at the end.
“We were never in any doubt of pushing forward and creating chances."
While the contributions of Scannell, as well as game-changing substitutes Wilfried Zaha and Jonathan Williams, caught the eye of the fans, it was Mile Jedinak who Freedman was most impressed with.
With a limping Owen Garvan forced to stay on the pitch after all three substitutes had been introduced, Jedinak had to effectively cover the whole of the centre-midfield.
And the Eagles boss couldn’t have been more pleased with his performance, as well as admitting there is more to come from the Australian.
Freedman said: “What a signing - a top performance from a top, top player. “He’s an international player. He comes on in pressured situations and allows people in the wider areas to get the ball to feet.
“We don't know how good he is.
“In November time we will really see him shine.” Tuesday night's result made this season's start for Palace their best in five years and Freedman believes it was a well deserved win, as well as a great stepping stone looking ahead.
He added: “The second half Coventry sat back and not only did we dominate it, but we created chances.
“In the end I felt we deserved to get a couple of goals and win the game. “I am very happy with our performance, it is a positive one going forward.”
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