It's time to put Palace silverware on the table

Eagles bid to claim their first major trophy in the FA Cup final against Manchester City

- By Dom Smith

Not until he spoke in the bowels of Wembley after Crystal Palace had hammered Aston Villa in the FA Cup semi-finals did Oliver Glasner entertain talk of the Eagles lifting major silverware for the first time. He's not ignoring it any longer.

Supporters’ memories of their two previous FA Cup finals, in 1990 and 2016, are bitter — of heartbreak and near misses — but on Saturday against Manchester City the chance arrives again to finally get over the line. Glasner has got Palace going full throttle after a whirlwind 15 months at the helm, but now they must peak at the right time. Their talisman, Eberechi Eze, scored only five goals in his first 30 games this season but has seven in his past 10. City could be in trouble.

It felt like a Palace procession, that Villa win last month. The way Palace muzzled the Champions League quarter-finalists had fans debating whether it rivalled the 4-3 semi-final win over Liverpool in 1990 as the club's greatest day. Seal the club’s first major trophy on Saturday and that discussion stops dead.

As significant as any factor in their march to the final is their recruitment, and the exit of sporting director Dougie Freedman is a heavy blow. Since Adam Wharton and Daniel Muñoz joined last year, two relative unknowns have been revelations. Glasner replaced Roy Hodgson in February last year, and both players have blossomed. Muñoz is perfectly suited to the wing-back role, while 21-year-old Wharton has made the jump from the Championship to the Premier League look easy. Absent from Sunday’s win over Spurs but “90 per cent” likely to play the final, according to Glasner, the midfielder must produce his crisp, wrapped passes at Wembley.