Sage admits to 'difficult' night in Como

[Getty Images] Crystal Palace manager Pierre Sage believes his side "created opportunities offensively" but "lacked aggression" defensively on a night of mixed results at the Como Cup. The Eagles played two 45-minute games in the tournament's group stage on Tuesday without finding a breakthrough. They fell to a 3-0 defeat against Lens, as former striker Odsonne Edouard knocked two goals past Walter Benitez, before being held to a goalless draw by Famalicao and relying on Remi Matthews to save a penalty in the deciding shootout. "In the first game, we played with our older players but it was difficult because Lens are a good team," Sage told Palace TV . "We had a lot of difficulty against them. "I think we lacked aggression defensively and they scored their first goal because of this. We made a tactical mistake on the second goal, and after that it was difficult. "But we did also have opportunities offensively and we have to keep that [as our positive]." Former Arsenal defender Takehiro Tomiyasu, who is currently on trial at Crystal Palace but in talks over a permanent contract , was named on the bench for both fixtures. The 27-year-old is currently a free agent following the expiration of his contract at Eredivisie side Ajax.