AEK Larnaca centre-forward Riad Bajic said his team “deserved” their historic 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace in the Uefa Conference League on Thursday night.

Bajic scored the only goal of the game, lashing the ball past Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson from 20 yards five minutes into the second half and securing the first ever competitive victory for a Cypriot side against English opposition.

“We knew that it was going to be a tough game for us. We played against an amazing team with good quality, with high quality … Everybody saw because we waited for them and we knew they would have possession, so we would try to make something from counter attacks like this. We also scored the goal like this,” he told American TV channel CBS Sports.

He added that AEK’s performance on the night was “a good performance for us”, and that “in the end, I think we deserved the three points”.

Despite this, he said the game was “not easy”, because “teams like Crystal Palace … in every moment, they can make a chance to score”.

His manager, Imanol Idiakez, meanwhile, said the result was “something amazing” for his team, and “not a miracle, but almost, because we are a small club in Europe”.

“We are really, really happy and I am very proud of the players,” he added.

He added that for the final 40 minutes of the game after taking the lead, “the quality work was amazing to defend the advantage”.

In the opposite dugout, Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner said the result should serve as a reminder for his side to “stay humble”.

“We will learn from it, the players will learn. And yes, it’s disappointing, it’s a frustrating night, but maybe the whole environment needed it to stay humble,” he said.

“You are always told when you play in the Premier League you win the Conference League. Stay humble. I don’t know if any debutant [is able] to win the competition. I don’t think so.”

AEK will next be in action at home against Apoel on Monday night in the Cypriot domestic league, before facing off against defending Cypriot champions Pafos FC in the Super Cup on October 30.

Their next European outing will come at home against Scottish side Aberdeen, who were themselves on the end of a 6-0 shellacking at the hands of AEK Athens on Thursday night, on November 6.

Crystal Palace, meanwhile, will face Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday, before travelling to Anfield to play Liverpool in the League Cup on October 29.

Their next game in the Conference League will come at home against Dutch side AZ Alkmaar, also on November 6. Alkmaar edged Slovak outfit Slovan Bratislava 1-0 at home on Thursday night.