Henderson: My hand was killing after that save!
Fresh from keeping his seventh Premier League clean sheet of the season in just 14 matches, Dean Henderson praised Crystal Palace’s collective defensive display in Wednesday’s 1-0 win at Burnley.
The Eagles were the better team for the opening hour at Turf Moor and deservedly led through Daniel Muñoz’s first-half header, but needed a series of impressive stops from Henderson – including a world-class fingertip save to deny Jacob Bruun Larsen midway through the second-half – to secure a clean sheet and, with it, three points.
Reflecting on the moment with Sky Sports, Henderson said: “Yeah, obviously that's my job.
“I was actually disappointed in the last game to get beaten from that sort of angle, so it's nice to make the save tonight.
“My hand was killing after it! I knew I got the touch – [I looked at the screen as] I just wanted to see what it looked like!”
On the game itself, Henderson surmised: “I thought it was interesting. Obviously the last couple of games have been difficult. We've took the lead going into half-time in both the previous two games, and obviously you get one ahead there.
“We probably didn't play our best tonight, that's for sure, but it shows the lads were in the trenches at the end, and we came away with a big clean sheet.
“They threw everything at us, to be fair. I thought they had the last 15-20 minutes there. The lads were working so hard, people playing out of position and stuff like that, but everyone to a man defended the box fantastically today, and I'm really proud of them all.”
We've got to live and die by that defensive record
—Dean Henderson
There was one late goal-line clearance from Chris Richards after Armando Broja beat Henderson to a hanging cross, and the goalkeeper noted: “That's everyone digging in for each other and making up for each other.
“We've got that unity in the group and they help me out as much as I try and help them out. There's a great unit at the back, and that's why we've got a great defensive record at the minute and everyone's working so hard.
“It's 11 men on the pitch which obviously does that. It’s a group effort.
“I think we've got to live and die by that defensive record. Obviously, with the games coming thick and fast, we've just got to keep recovering well, and keep going and keep putting one foot in front of another.”