Sean Dyche believes Neco Williams' handball was an "instinctive reaction" and was thrilled with the individual performances from Nottingham Forest against Crystal Palace.

Morgan Gibbs-White had given Forest an early lead in their 1-1 draw, but the momentum changed just before half-time.

Williams used his arm to keep out Jefferson Lerma's header on the line, receiving a straight red card, and Palace equalised from the resulting penalty, though neither side were able to find a winner after the break.

Forest remain unbeaten in their last 14 top-flight meetings with Palace (W5 D9), with 12 of those coming in the Premier League.

And Dyche had few complaints about Williams' sending-off and was full of praise for how his team handled their numerical disadvantage.

"Half-time changes the whole feeling of the game. We had some real quality play. So many good performances," Dyche told Sky Sports.

"I think it's an instinctive reaction from Neco. I'm not going to question him on that.

"I've not said much to him at all. It's one of those things. He's been terrific here. It's an instinctive reaction; he's thrown his head at it, couldn't reach it, and it touched his hand. We all know the rules."

Dyche was also forced into a half-time change, with Matz Sels going off injured.

It comes after Forest announced the signing of Stefan Ortega from Manchester City prior to kick-off, with the German signing a three-and-a-half-year deal at the City Ground.

"He's got what we think is a groin," Dyche said of Sels. "He'll have a scan as soon as possible."

As for Palace, they are now winless in their last nine Premier League games (D3 L6), their outright worst run under Oliver Glasner and longest overall since March 2023 (12 matches).

Despite having 74% possession in the second half against 10 men, Palace still had fewer shots (four vs seven) and touches in the opposition box (seven vs nine) than Forest.

"I'm really pleased with the first half, especially the reaction after going 1-0 down," Glasner told Sky Sports.

"We played a fantastic first half. We controlled the game for the first 10-15 minutes in the second half, but we lost our nerve. You could see the weight on the players' shoulders."

Jean-Philippe Mateta was left out of the squad as he is reportedly closing in on a move to AC Milan.

But Palace have seemingly already got a replacement lined up, with reports on Sunday suggesting they had a bid accepted for Wolves' Jorgen Strand Larsen.

On the transfer window, Glasner added: "Everyone can contribute. Everyone who plays in the attack can contribute.

"We need the set plays; we are really good at set plays again, like we were last year. Let's see, I don't know what will happen. We need a striker who scores goals. Mateta is our top scorer [eight in the Premier League].

"The players deserve my full focus, and it's challenging for everyone when you have such a tight squad. It was pretty clear that we need great togetherness here.

"I don't know [if Mateta will stay]. It is either him or someone else."