Thank you to all our sponsors

Anna FILBEY

Jamie Grubb

Aimee EVERETT Impact Sponsorship

Rianna DEAN

Annabel BLANCHARD

Alan Dean

Eagle Eye View

Kirsten REILLY Andy Davis

Leigh NICOL

Shauna GUYATT

Charley CLIFFORD

Fran KITCHING (GK)

Natalia NEGRI (GK)

Hope SMITH (GK)

The Brand Masters London Ltd

Eagle Eye View

Blue Motor

CPFC USA

Today’s match falls in Women’s Football Weekend, a celebration of the growing community which makes up domestic women’s football in England.

What I love about being in women’s football is the amount of people I work with every day who are paving the way for the game. It’s becoming so much bigger, as you can see with the crowd here today, and I hope many of you will continue to be a part of the Palace fanbase who support us home and away, every game.

It’s my fourth season here now, and third as captain. You get used to seeing familiar faces in the crowd, and we always make sure we go to clap the fans at the end! We have fantastic supporters we can always hear singing for us, so thank you to those who are always there for us. Your consistency of support is fantastic, and it just means everything to the girls.

Having extra fans in today will just be even more amazing. I know the girls absolutely love it when they have the chance to sign autographs and take pictures with you after the game. It gives us that extra boost, so it’ll be fantastic to have a big crowd supporting us today.

As Palace’s captain, I know the struggles that all of the girls have been through to get to where they are today. A lot of them probably don’t necessarily even see them as ‘struggles’; they just get their heads down, keep working, and keep inspiring the next generation by doing better for the team. I love being a part of that kind of environment.

Looking ahead to today, we know from experience that captain

Blackburn are a very difficult team to play against in the Women’s Championship, so we’re expecting a tough game. They can disrupt play very well and challenge you when you’re trying to break them down, but they can also catch you out on the counter-attack, and get goals as well.

We know that Blackburn come here today after a difficult run of results. When a team’s not in great form, it can often mean they’ll be doing everything to go above and beyond to break that run, so that could make it more difficult for us today.

Although we won the reverse fixture 3-1 earlier this season, it was a really tough place for us to go, and a very physical game. The girls put in a fantastic performance and found solutions to the problems that Blackburn posed, ultimately coming out with a deserved win.

I’m writing these notes before our trip to Birmingham City on Wednesday evening, so our last result was that 1-0 win against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane – our third win in our previous four games.

It was an interesting game because we’d only played them a couple of weeks beforehand! The girls put in a dominant performance and I think we could’ve scored more goals against them – although, as a defender, a clean sheet is all you can ask for! We prepared fantastically, and got the result that we deserved.

Confidence is growing again within the group. When you have a bad run of form, naturally it can be knocked, but individuals’ confidence is growing, as well as trust within each other. There have been a lot of learning curves for us this season. On reflection, as a group, we couldn’t have asked any more of the girls. They’ve come in, believed in the club and given everything for the badge. Especially as a captain, trying to get everyone to gel, they’ve result. They’re a great bunch of girls, and I feel very supported and valued by them, so I’m very lucky to be in this position. been fantastic in those elements. Over time, this team will just get stronger and stronger, and keep producing more positive results.

It’s incredible how much the club has changed since I’ve been here. When I first came in, we were training twice a week on astroturf at ten ‘o clock at night.

Each year, we’ve taken the next step towards professionalism, whether that’s increasing the training, increasing our gym time, or helping the girls with those transitions. Now, it’s a completely different club.

There are still some areas we know we can improve, but from where I came in with the club, I’m very proud to have helped us make the transition to where we are today.

We’re always looking up the table and looking ahead to where we can gain points. There are still a few games left. We know what this league is like – it’s very competitive – so anyone can get a result at any time, which would allow us to jump up the table.

This club has so much potential. We’re in the Academy more nowadays for training, and I can see what a big impact that’s had on the girls’ morale and how we’re playing for the badge all the time.

I’m always so proud to lead this group. I’ve told them, whenever we’ve been in some difficult places in matches, that I’m always proud to lead this group, whatever the

The facilities are excellent at Crystal Palace, everybody knows that, and the ceiling is very high for us as a team. I can see this club, with your support, progressing, and becoming a big force in women’s football in the future.

Thank you once again for your support – and come on Palace! .