A new start for him – Crystal Palace coach backs Uche to become first-team candidate after a good outing against Shelbourne

Crystal Palace and Super Eagles midfielder Christantus Uche scored his first goal for the Eagles in their 3-0 Conference League win over Irish side Shelbourne last night, Soccernet.ng reports.

The 22-year-old joined Oliver Glasner's side on a season-long loan, and had played just 44 minutes of action before he got his first 90 minutes at Tallaght Stadium. And his performance pleased his manager.

Uche's blistering performance comes after he was excluded from Eric Chelle's final 28-man AFCON squad.

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Christantus Uche's first goal for Crystal Palace

Uche's first goal comes after he made a good impression against Fulham, and it is understood that, despite a lack of minutes, the Getafe loanee wants to stay at Palace and help them try to qualify for the Champions League.

The hunger and desire to prove himself to the Palace hierarchy earned him his first start for the Eagles last night, and it took him just 11 minutes to open his goalscoring account for the reigning FA Cup Champions.

Captain Marc Guéhi kick-started a fine move, played forwards first-time by Daichi Kamada to set Eddie Nketiah in behind.

The No. 9, spotting Uche in support, played a fine pass himself into the Nigerian’s path – and he duly crashed home a clinical finish to make the back of the net bulge.

Christantus Uche had the Crystal Palace away end on strings after their big win in Ireland

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The early goal gave Palace the cushion they craved, and the next phase of the game saw them largely control proceedings – Adam Wharton twice threatening with shots from the edge of the box. Goals from Eddie Nketiah and Yeremy Pino sealed all three points for the London-based side before half-time.

Uche's performance pleases Oliver Glasner

The Austrian manager previously mentioned that the struggles of the Nigerian attacker at Selhurst Park were a result of the starting eleven being so hard to break into.

It now appears the Getafe loanee is getting into the thick of things after helping Palace secure a 2-1 win against Fulham last time out.

“Christantus deserved it. He showed up against Fulham. He showed he can help us, and he can score goals. That is now for him, maybe the starting moment at Crystal Palace,” Glasner told TNT SPORTS.

For the strikers, the goals are always important. All three who played up front scored a goal, so hopefully this gives him some confidence. It was a good performance from him.

The 22-year-old will be looking to show Eric Chelle what he missed out on when Crystal Palace take on Manchester City on Sunday.