Crystal Palace loanee James Daly has dazzled in his time at Kingstonian and believes a spell in the lower leagues can help him become a more complete player.

Saturday saw the 18-year-old score a sublime solo goal against Enfield Town which sent the K’s second in the Bostik Premier - a run and finish that would have been worthy of a Premier League game.

The young forward, who was on the bench for Palace’s first-team fixture with Bournemouth in April 2018, is on a season long loan in non-league and says he’s relishing life in senior football.

“The competitiveness is completely different,” said Daly.

“The boys are putting themselves on the line every single week. When you’re a youngster in a Premier League academy, it’s not got that edge. It’s the best thing, as a youngster, to play for a team needing three points and where, if you lose games, a manager could get sacked or players have to go, because it’s proper pressure.

“At Under-23s, you can make a mistake or have a period of bad form and you’ll get an arm around the shoulder but here it’s real life. Here, you could get abuse from the terraces! You get told! That’s real life.”

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Daly has scored five times since arriving in September and has had Mark Bright keeping close tabs on him. The former Eagles striker - and now club ambassador at Selhurst Park - has been down at King George’s Field more than once to watch Daly and fellow Palace loanee Tyler Brown, who’s been a revelation at left-back. More goals like Saturday’s and it might be manager Roy Hodgson taking a closer look.

The 1-0 win at fellow promotion contenders Enfield Town was settled in the 58th minute when Daly weaved his way in and out of three defenders’ challenges, slaloming across the box with preternatural balance before calmly slotting the ball under keeper Joe Wright.

“It’s definitely up there with the best goals I’ve scored,” said Daly.

“Once I linked with Elliott [Buchanan], he played me and then I went past one, I tried to get a shot away with my left, but then I saw the right-back coming in and he was going to block it, so I took him on!

“And then I was one-on-one with the keeper, I knew when he’d come out and commit, so I saw that then put it under him. It’s weird. It all slows down, I sort of know what I’m going to do before it comes, and then once the keeper comes out, it’s what I’ve been training for every day. So it’s instinct but also planning.”

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Daly also enjoyed being mobbed by fans behind the goal in a traditional K's celebration "bundle". "You don’t get that in academies either!" he said. "It’s great. These experiences are new to me."

Assistant manager, Jamie Lawrence, heaped praise on the teenager. “It was a great goal. I spoke to him before kick-off and told him, ‘sometimes come inside, play the pass and follow the ball’ and that’s exactly what he’s done to win the game.”

K’s host in-form Haringey Borough at King George’s Field on 1 December.