Crystal Palace came from behind to beat League One side Plymouth Argyle 4-3 in a thrilling League Cup second-round tie at Home Park on Tuesday night.
The Eagles were trailing 3-1 at half-time after goals from Ryan Hardie, Panutche Camara, and Conor Grant, but they produced a stunning second-half comeback thanks to a hat-trick from Jean-Philippe Mateta.
Mateta pulled one back for Palace in the 52nd minute before levelling the scores with a penalty in the 68th minute. He then completed his hat-trick with two goals in the final 10 minutes to seal a memorable victory for the visitors.
The result was a major boost for Palace, who had lost their opening two Premier League matches of the season. It was also a sign of progress for the Eagles under new manager Patrick Vieira, who has now won two of his first three games in charge.
Palace started the match brightly and created several chances in the early stages. However, they were caught out by a sucker punch in the 20th minute when Hardie fired Plymouth into the lead.
The Eagles responded well and equalized through Mateta in the 35th minute. However, Plymouth regained the lead just before half-time thanks to Camara’s goal.
Plymouth looked to be in control of the match at half-time, but Palace came out all guns blazing in the second half. They leveled the scores through Mateta’s penalty in the 68th minute and then took the lead for the first time in the match through his third goal in the 78th minute.
Mateta completed his hat-trick with a goal in the 88th minute to seal a memorable victory for Palace.
The result was a major boost for Palace, who had lost their opening two Premier League matches of the season. It was also a sign of progress for the Eagles under new manager Patrick Vieira, who has now won two of his first three games in charge.
Vieira was delighted with the result and praised his players for their never-say-die attitude.
“It was a great comeback from the players,” he said. “We showed great character and determination to come back from 3-1 down. I’m very proud of the players.”
Mateta was also pleased with his performance and said he was happy to help Palace get the win.
“I’m very happy to score three goals and help the team win,” he said. “It was a tough game, but we showed great character to come back and win.”
The victory was a major boost for Palace, who will now be looking to build on their momentum in their next Premier League match against Brentford on Saturday.
