Crystal Palace failed to make their dominance count as they were held to a draw by Zrinjski Mostar in the first leg of their Conference League play-off tie.

The Eagles enjoyed more than 70% possession and appeared on course for a first knockout win in a major European competition when Ismaila Sarr struck two minutes before half-time.

But the hosts punished a sloppy start to the second half from Oliver Glasner's side in the 55th minute, as Karlo Abramovic fired past Dean Henderson to leave the tie evenly poised ahead the second leg at Selhurst Park on 26 February (20:00 GMT)

After a weekend without FA Cup action resulted in an eight-day break between fixtures for Palace, manager Glasner was able to name a strong line-up featuring Adam Wharton, Brennan Johnson and Jorgen Strand Larsen.

The visitors started brightly and could have been ahead inside seven minutes when Sarr volleyed at Goran Karacic.

England international Wharton saw his shot whistle past the post soon after as the Premier League side kept the pressure on.

Palace thought they had taken the lead after 12 minutes when Sarr capitalised on a loose ball and finished neatly from six yards out.

But the goal was quickly ruled out as defender Chris Richards came from an offside position to cross the ball to the Senegal international at the back post.

Even after the early dominance from the visitors, Zrinjski responded with a rare attack of their own down the right which required a last-ditch intervention from defender Daniel Munoz.

They threatened again six minutes before the break through Antonio Ivancic, who blazed over after a wonderful cushioned header from Mario Cuze.

In the 43rd minute, Palace's efforts eventually paid dividends as a crisp first touch from new signing Strand Larsen set the ball up for Sarr to curl home the opener and take his tally to three goals in this season's competition.

But Zrinjski hit back 10 minutes into the second half after a sloppy pass from Wharton ended with Abramovic drilling his shot into the far corner after a strong run from Leo Mikic.

Wharton came agonisingly close to making amends for his earlier mistake and scoring his first goal for the club, rattling the crossbar with a long‑range effort inside the final 20 minutes.

Glasner was left visibly frustrated on the touchline as his side failed to turn their possession into a winning goal, with an unmarked Richards heading wide from inside the box after connecting with a corner.

Nine minutes from time, however, it nearly went from bad to worse for the Premier League side as the referee went to the pitchside monitor to check an alleged handball against Munoz.

In the end, the decision went Palace's way and both sides will head into next week's second leg in south London level.

It has been a miserable season for Crystal Palace.

After defying the odds to beat Manchester City in the FA Cup final less than 12 months ago, the wheels have slowly begun to come off for the south London club.

Since the Eagles last featured in the Conference League on 18 December, things have gone from bad to worse.

Palace have slipped from fifth to 13th in the Premier League, exited the League Cup at the quarter-final stage, and seen their reign as FA Cup holders ended by sixth-tier Macclesfield.

Add to that the departure of captain Marc Guehi to Manchester City and confirmation that Glasner will leave the club at the end of the season, and it has been a testing couple of months at Selhurst Park.

Thursday night's trip to Bosnia was supposed to provide relief from a difficult domestic season, but it instead highlighted Palace's ongoing problems.

For all of their possession, Palace again lacked imagination and conviction in the final third.

Even if they have enough to overcome Zrinjski at Selhurst Park next week, talk of reaching the Conference League final - and any travel plans to go with it - is premature.

After just one win in 15 games, Palace will need to snap out of their slump if they are to harbour genuine hopes of advancing to the latter stages of the competition and reaching the final at the Red Bull Arena for 27 May.