Roy Hodgson takes 'cruel blow' as Tottenham win at Crystal Palace

Roy Hodgson admitted it was a "cruel blow" for Crystal Palace after Tottenham snatched a 1-0 win at Selhurst Park.

Harry Kane scored an 88th-minute winner to dent the Eagles' survival chances, leaving them just one place above the Premier League relegation zone in 17th place and only ahead of Swansea on goal difference.

Palace play Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool in three of their next four fixtures and the defeat was difficult to take for Hodgson, who has 11 senior players missing through injury.

He told Sky Sports after the game: "It's a cruel blow, but we know what a cruel game football is, so we have to pick ourselves up and try and go again.

"At the moment we don't have the fire-power and the players that we would need to go toe-to-toe with these teams.

"We are going to have to try hard and defend well and in depth, work a lot harder in terms of keeping the opposition at bay and hope not to get the dagger thrust at the 88th minute, hoping you would see it through and get a point."

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One positive for Hodgson was the performance of 20-year-old Aaron Wan-Bissaka who made his Premier League debut at right-back. The former England manager felt the youngster put in a confident display on a tough afternoon.

He said: "I thought he was excellent. He had a lot of defending to do because they had so much of the ball, they had a lot of corners and a lot around our penalty area.

"He must be feeling very pleased with his performance or as pleased as you can be when you're on the field for the defeated team."

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