Annabel Blanchard fired Crystal Palace to a historic first Barclays WSL win on Sunday afternoon at the King Power. Her second half brace saw the Eagles beat Leicester City 2-0 to lift them up to eighth in the table.
The Action
It has been a testing first few weeks for Crystal Palace as they grapple with making the step up to the Barclays WSL. Shipping 11 goals in their first two games inevitably got tongues wagging about their staying power in the league despite some positive signs in both performances.
Their display against Leicester on Sunday, however, illustrated exactly how resilient Laura Kaminski’s team can be. They would have been underdogs when they walked out onto the pitch at the King Power but produced a display that exemplified how they might just have some success in this league.
It took the Eagles a while to settle into the game and they were given an early scare. Stretching the play, Leicester broke at pace to send Jutta Rantala through on goal. You would normally put money on her to score one-on-one inside the box but the alert keeping of Shae Yanez did just enough to put her off.
The visitors dug in and began to take control of proceedings. With the Foxes’ early energy fading, England youngster Lexi Potter took the game by the scruff of the neck. They dominated possession and created a few half chances, although nothing that troubled Janina Leitzig too much in the Leicester goal.
That changed in the 55th minute when a superb team move saw Annabel Blanchard score the club’s first ever WSL goal. The 23-year-old has been at the heart of Palace’s success over the last two years and it was apt that it was her to get this historic accolade.
A foul by Ruby Mace on Potter in the box led to Palace’s second – a penalty kick that Blanchard dispatched clinically. With a two-goal deficit, Leicester City struggled to mount any response of note and Palace could see out a famous victory.
Stand Out Moment
Annabel Blanchard’s opener was as good a team goal as you will see. With Leicester pegged back in the own half, Mille Gejl was alert to pick possession off of a struggling Jutta Rantala 20 yards from goal. A neat pass into the feet of Blanchard saw a one-two with Katie Stengel follow. The forward’s cute back-heeled return set Palace’s number 10 through on goal and she finished with aplomb.
A brilliant strike from @annabelblanch10 🌟
She nets @cpfc_w‘s first #BarclaysWSL goal 🤩 pic.twitter.com/DChgJtFDSv
— Barclays Women’s Super League (@BarclaysWSL) October 6, 2024
Stand Out Performer
Palace’s Lexi Potter produced a dominant performance in the midfield that showed a maturity beyond her years. The 18-year-old returned to the starting XI after being unable to play against her parent club Chelsea the previous week. It was a display that showed exactly why her manager has so much faith in her. Sat in the number 6 role, she broke up play with her physicality in the challenge while her strong close ball control allowed her to constantly kickstart the Eagles’ transition into attack.
Quote of the Day
“We’ve made history for the club which I’m extremely proud of. I thought the players deserved the points from their performance… Now we need to keep our feet on the ground – not be too high with the highs or too low with the lows.”
Laura Kaminski, Crystal Palace manager
Teams
LEICESTER CITY
Janina Leitzig; CJ Bott, Sophie Howard, Julie Thibaud, Janice Cayman (c); Ruby Mace, Saori Takarada; Sam Tierney; Jutta Rantala, Noemie Mouchon, Missy Goodwin
Subs: Lize Kop; Courtney Nevin; Deanne Rose; Emilia Pelgander; Sari Kees; Shana Chossenotte; Yuki Momiki; Chantelle Swaby; Nelly Las
Manager: Amandine Miquel
CRYSTAL PALACE
Shae Yanez; Josie Green, Aimee Everett (c), Katrine Veje, Lily Woodham; Lexi Potter, My Cato; Annabel Blanchard; Mille Gejl, Katie Stengel, Ashleigh Weerden
Subs: Milla-Maj Majasaari; Fliss Gibbons; Chloe Arthur; Molly-Mae Sharpe; Indiah-Paige Riley; Abbie Larkin; Brooke Aspin; Izzy Atkinson
Manager: Laura Kaminski
