Palace Women v Durham matchday programme 2324 publication

Crystal Palace √ durham

sun 10 sep 2023

12:00 kick-off

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Good afternoon everybody and welcome back to our new home, the VBS Community Stadium. I’d like to welcome Lee Sanders and his Durham team to south London today, and wish them well for their long journey home after the game.

What a great atmosphere it was here last time. There were over 750 people here, and the place erupted when we scored. Certainly, the players felt that support – I know I did as well – and it’s a fantastic place for us to call home.

We want to get used to the facility as quickly as possible. We want to make the most of it. We know the grass surface is fantastic, so we just want to get the ball down and play and get some outcomes in the final third.

We were disappointed not to get a win last time we were here. All respect to Reading – they defended well and posed us some real problems on the counter-attack – but I thought we handled the game well.

You always want to start with a win, but it was a steady start, and it was important for the players to showcase themselves in new roles. They’re still learning, and I’m still learning from them.

Against Birmingham last week, we got our first win of the season. We reflected the week before on

some periods of the game where we weren’t so sharp.

I looked at a lot of statistics and reviewed that game in some depth, and we really focused hard on periods of the game where we wanted to pick up our performance.

obviously very young and need experience of the Championship. It’s a unique league – each team has a different identity, and they perhaps won’t have seen some of those in youth football, but they’re both talented enough and technical enough to understand the plans I’ve got in place.

Araya came off the bench and produced a fantastic finish to win the game last week. She hasn’t had long to learn what I’m asking her to do, and credit to her and the substitutes that came on to finish the game. Fitting into a game like that at such tempo is a credit to the talent and application in this squad.

The players were able to digest and implement a gameplan, and that’s what impressed me the most. I think they reaped the rewards of doing so. Shortly before the game, we welcomed Araya Dennis and Lexi Potter to the club from Arsenal and Chelsea respectively. They’re

Today, I expect to face a very organised team in Durham. They played very well against Lewes last week and they’ve got some very experienced players who have been playing Championship football for a long time, so they’re going to pose us some challenges and we’ll have to focus on how we set up and perform against them.

Thank you, as always, for your fantastic support, Laura

What a great atmosphere it was here last time. There were over 750 people here, and the place erupted when we scored

Good afternoon everybody, and welcome back to the VBS Community Stadium for today’s Women’s Championship fixture against Durham.

As captain, I’d like to welcome Durham’s players, staff and supporters to south London, and hope they have safe journey back to the North-East after the game.

We go into today’s game off the back of a brilliant win at Birmingham City last weekend. It was a tight first-half, but I think the second-half really opened up and it could have gone either way. They could have scored first – but thank goodness we did!

It was my first goal as a Palace player, and to score it at a stadium like St Andrew’s, and set our team on the way to victory, was a really proud moment for me. It was a great corner in from Fliss Gibbons and I just got my head to it!

I had all my family watching me from the stands, which meant so much; to score my first goal in front of them was absolutely amazing.

Then, Araya Dennis made an amazing impact on her debut, scoring our second goal. She is such a young talent. For her to come on and play like that – I was

captain

blown away watching, so it’s brilliant for her and for the team. We know how talented she and Lexi Potter are, and we’ve been delighted to welcome them both to the club.

What I loved most as captain about last week’s game was our team spirit. You could see it out there on the pitch: the graft, the togetherness that we all put in. The work that goes on week-in, week-out here is absolutely phenomenal, and it’s great to see at this point – because it will only get stronger.

Last time we were here in Sutton, we had a good game and got a point from it. Last week, it was lovely to get the three points, especially against a side like Birmingham. Now, we need to build on it, going into a match against an opponent as strong as Durham.

Thank you for such amazing support last time we were here – you really made it feel like home. I know you’ll do the same again today.

Enjoy the match!

The work that goes on week-in, week-out here is absolutely phenomenal, and it’s great to see at this point – because it will only get stronger

Goals from skipper Aimee Everett and new signing Araya Dennis propelled Crystal Palace Women to a 2-1 victory over Birmingham City on a baking hot day at St Andrew’s last weekend…

Birmingham city 1-2 Crystal Palace

Off the back of a 1-1 draw with Reading on the opening day of the weekend, Palace Women arrived at St Andrew’s seeking a first Women’s Championship win of the season.

The Eagles soon had the chance to take the lead; a corner won by Polly Doran was swung in by Fliss Gibbons and resulted in a goalmouth scramble. The ball fell to Elise Hughes who fired in a shot through a sea of legs, only to be denied by Birmingham goalkeeper, Lucy Thomas.

Hughes’ effort turned out to be Palace’s best chance of the opening half. Despite Palace putting Birmingham under pressure with a high press early on, the Blues navigated it well and were in control of possession for much of the first-half.

The Blues put this possession to good use and created two good chances in quick succession, although Natalia Negri was equal to them both. 15 minutes in, Jade Pennock deftly flicked on Jamie

Finn’s cross to Lily Agg, whose leftfooted attempt was stopped by the right boot of Negri. A minute later, she denied Agg again.

The Eagles were forced to remain patient, and almost found a way through via Annabel Blanchard. The forward received the ball on the right-hand side of the penalty area and shifted between two defenders before firing on the turn just past the near post.

Birmingham appeared to carry their positive momentum into the second half as an early chance came for Pennock, whose shot from the edge of the area floated over the crossbar.

The game seemed to spark back into life when 17-year-old Araya Dennis entered the fray, making her debut after joining the previous day from Arsenal under a dual-registration agreement, and her team took the lead a minute later.

Gibbons whipped in a corner from the right-hand side and Palace captain Aimee Everett rose highest

to nod the ball home at the near post for her first goal in her third season at the club.

The visitors continued to look dangerous every time they went forward, particularly when the ball was at the feet of Blanchard, who was at the centre of almost every Palace attack, and Dennis.

The duo linked up to produce Palace’s second of the afternoon – a delightful through ball by Blanchard found the debutant in the penalty area, who calmly slotted first-time past Thomas to extend the Eagles’ advantage.

Birmingham seemed as though they might mount a comeback in stoppage time when Lucy Quinn’s cross was met by Louise Quinn, with Negri unable to prevent the goal despite getting her hands to the ball.

However, the Blues’ late strike proved to be too little, too late, as Palace held on to take the win and remain undefeated at the start of the season.

paige bailey-gayle

How would you describe your World Cup experience?

It was the best experience ever – so many memories! I didn’t know what to expect going into it, but we could all feel the support of Jamaica everywhere we went. It’s unfortunate we’ve now got to wait another four years to do it again, but fingers crossed I’ll get to go to another one.

What did it mean for you to represent your country?

Both of my grandparents were born in Jamaica and then they came over to England, but even though my parents were born in England, I don’t

get to know palace’s history maker...

feel like I’m far from the culture of Jamaica. I’ve learnt a lot being around staff and the girls, and being in Jamaica, so I still feel that piece of home inside.

How much has changed at the club since you’ve been away?

It’s been a big change – there are lots of new faces – but it’s exciting! I’m hoping I’ll take what I learned from the World Cup and hopefully bring it back to the girls, and help in more than one way – not just on the pitch, but off the pitch too – so that we can more consistently get three points throughout the season.

How is it being back in action for Palace after the World Cup?

It’s good to be back out there with the girls! It felt like off-season has been long, but I’m happy to be back out there. We were unfortunate not to get three points to start the season, but we grinded and kept going until the final whistle to get that point, so we’re happy.

What’s your target for this season? I want to develop as a player. I want to get as fit as possible, and the numbers and goals will follow after that – but mainly, I just want to give the best version of myself.

I’ll take what I learned from the World Cup and hopefully bring it back to the girls

paige bailey-gayle

Paige Bailey-Gayle became Palace Women’s first-ever FIFA World Cup representative this summer, helping Jamaica to reach the Round of 16 at the finals in Australia and New Zealand.

Following a promising pre-season, with new recruits, a new head coach and a new vision, Crystal Palace Women have embarked on an exciting 2023/24 campaign at their new home: the VBS Community Stadium. Get set for the year with our fresh-season Stat Zone...

individual

fixtures, results & stats

Elise Hughes

scored the only goal as Palace

Crystal palace f.c.

Georgia ROBERT

Lauren BRIGGS

Sarah WILSON

Sarah ROBSON

Beth HEPPLE

Mollie LAMBERT

Elise HUGHES

Annabel BLANCHARD

Kirsten REILLY

Lia CATALDO

Natalia NEGRI (GK)

Paige BAILEY-GAYLE

Amy ANDREWS

Lily CROSTHWAITE

Anna KING (GK)

Becky SALICKI

Dee BRADLEY

Poppy PRITCHARD

Grace AYRE

Ella WILSON

Saoirse NOONAN

Erin NICHOLSON

Eleanor RYAN-DOYLE

Jess CLARKE

Abby HOLMES

Tatiana SAUNDERS (GK)