United came from behind to win 2-1, with Palace also losing their goalscorer Maxence Lacroix to a red card.
“It’s a tough one,” United States international Richards told Palace TV afterwards. “I think it was a game of ups and downs.
“In the first-half we were riding that wave. After the goal I think we did well until probably the last 10 or 15 minutes. We wanted to get to half-time with the 1-0.
“The second-half started off a bit hectic, and the red card happened. They got a lot of momentum.
“But honestly I think we ended the game pretty well. That’s pretty much how the cookie crumbled today.
“Overall, they’re still a good side and I think we can take a lot of positives from the game. At this point, we’ve got to keep looking forward.
“We still have a lot of big games coming up this season, so I don’t think we should let ourselves get too down after a result like today.”