The home end came to its feet, every block, every row, every seat, the Holmesdale and the Arthur Wait and the Whitehorse and the Main Stand and the executive boxes that had been bought by people who did not normally come to football matches at Selhurst Park, and twenty-five thousand people sang the song they had been singing since 1968 about being so glad they were a part of all of it.
The players did the lap. All of them. Including Mama, who had been in the stand in his tracksuit and had come down at the final whistle. Including Wilf, who had not been in the squad. Including Aaron and Mili and Mateo and Christopher and Eze and Wayne, all in their training kit, doing the lap with the lads who had played.
Konaté was at the back of the lap. His grandmother in seat block B was on her feet because the steward had asked her if she wanted to go down to the front and she had said no, that her grandson knew where she was sitting.
