PUBLISHED
10:00 9th May 2013
by Adam Tighe
Tomasz Kuszczak is refusing to let the Albion's rivalry with Crystal Palace affect his focus ahead of Friday's play-off semi-final, first leg, at Selhurst Park.A 3-2 win over Peterborough secured fifth place for the Eagles, setting up the hotly-anticipated encounter, but the Polish keeper told seagulls.co.uk, “I just want to help the team and be part of a great season.
"There is nothing personal and I respect Palace because I know they have good players and have done well this season, that is why they are in a play-off position.
“I will treat this fixture like every other one; they are another opponent we need to pass to realise our dreams.”
Kuszczak highlighted the first leg as being key in Albion's progression but feels there is enough calm heads within the squad.
“You can see that in the Champions League, where teams who lost in the first legs struggled, so it is a good lesson for everyone. We need to be really disciplined to bring a good result home, then have our fans behind us in the second leg.
“There is going to be emotion as this is play-off time and every aspect of the game is going to count. We need to be prepared for that but we have a lot of experience in the team and players that can handle the pressure.*
“They lost here 3-0 and we dominated but these are going to be different games as they are two legged and we need to bring a good result home from the first game."
Original article