Crystal Palace failed to make their dominance count as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Zrinjski Mostar in the first leg of their Conference League knockout play-off, leaving the tie evenly poised ahead of the return at Selhurst Park on 26 February.
Ismaila Sarr's well-taken strike two minutes before half-time had appeared to set Oliver Glasner's side on course for a much-needed victory in freezing Bosnia, but Karlo Abramovic's 55th-minute equaliser punished a sloppy second-half restart and left the Premier League visitors with plenty still to do.
Eagles bossed possession but lacked the killer touch
Glasner, handed an eight-day break by a weekend without FA Cup action, was able to name a strong line-up featuring Adam Wharton, Brennan Johnson and Jorgen Strand Larsen, and his side started brightly. Sarr volleyed at Goran Karacic inside seven minutes, Wharton saw a shot whistle past the post, and the Senegal international had the ball in the net after 12 minutes only for the offside flag to rule it out because Chris Richards had crossed from an offside position.