Wickham loses on Palace debut

Crystal Palace handed a debut to Connor Wickham as they rounded off their pre-season campaign with a 1-0 defeat away at Dagenham and Redbridge on Monday.

Having signed a five-year deal to join from Sunderland in the morning, Wickham was given the chance to make an immediate impression for his new employers at the London Borough of Barking & Dagenham Stadium.

The striker played the first 45 minutes, starting alongside Fraizer Campbell – who was forced to make an early exit through injury – and Patrick Bamford up front, before being replaced at the break.

Brede Hangeland, Martin Kelly and Lee Chung-yong were also involved in the fixture, while summer recruit Alex McCarthy played the entire match in goal for the visitors.

However, it was Dagenham who grabbed the only goal of the game when substitute Aaron McLean was on hand to knock home a rebound following an excellent McCarthy save.

Mark Cousins in the home goal made a number of smart stops to keep Palace at bay, while Andreas Breimyr volleyed narrowly wide in the closing stages.

Alan Pardew’s squad will now turn their attentions to the start of the new Premier League season – they kick off their campaign away at promoted Norwich City on Saturday.