Crystal Palace continued their win-less run with a draw against Abbey Rangers in freezing conditions.
Palace started the game well but looked vulnerable to the counter attack, they fell behind against the run of play in the 14th min when a sparse looking defence allowed their striker a simple tap in. Palace were dominating possession but were failing in the final third, chances fell to Abi Deene, Alice Fuller, Amy Gorman, Bekki Keyte and Tyra Wilson but each chance slipped away following bad luck and good goalkeeping. Keeley Nazareth did manage an equaliser in the 30th min with a well taken finish that went in off the post, so the girls went in at half time level pegging.
The second half was completely dominated by Crystal Palace, chance after chance came and went with Wilson, Deene, Nazareth, Keyte and second half substitutes Connie Lowman and Lucy Dolly all going close but the ball just would not find its way across the line. In the 61st min Nazareth broke through and was clipped but didn’t go down, she stumbled but couldn’t regain her composure to finish and the penalty appeals were ignored by the referee. Soon after a lofted ball through by Spokes found Deene one on one with with the keeper, she rushed out of her area well and spread herself to prevent the lob from Deene which struck her hand allowing the defender to clear, again the appeals for handball were in vein as the referee waved play on. In the final 5 mins manager, Luke Hunter, threw on Sadiye Yilmaz and went with an unconventional 3-2-5 formation in a desperate attempt to claim the 3 points but Abbey rangers hard working defence heroically held on and the game finished in a stalemate at 1-1
In summary, a much improved Palace performance but they were foiled by some great defending and goalkeeping and, perhaps, the odd dubious refereeing decision or two. Player of the match goes to Keeley Nazareth who always looked dangerous going forward and worked her socks off for the whole game.
Sunday 03/03/2026
C.Palace 3 Molesey 1 AND Molesey 1 C.Palace 3
Palace faced Molesey twice in a double header at home on the stadium pitch so playing time was reduced to 30 mins each way for both games.
Following the poor run of late Palace started slowly showing little confidence against a feisty Molesey side. Although Palace were dominating possession in the early stages they failed to penetrate the sturdy Molesey defence and paid the price when they fell behind in the 12th min. Shoulders dropped but they continued the half playing reasonably well. Bekki Keyte grabbed an equaliser in the 25th min following a corner to make a half time score of 1-1
Following a confidence building half time talk from manager, Luke Hunter, the girls came out with renewed vigour, they dominated large parts of the half and were rewarded with an excellent goal in the 50th min, Sadiye Yilmaz worked some magic down the left, she passed to Amy Gorman who slammed in a great finish to give Palace the lead. In an instant confidence returned and some fine football was rewarded in the 58th min when Gorman again finished to give a final score of 3-1.
After a 15 min break the teams emerged for the second game and Palace started to knock the ball around the way we all know they are capable of but they just could not break through the stubborn Molesey defence and went in at the break 0-0
Much the same in the second half and the game was looking like it was going to end goalless, this was until 10 mins from the end when we had an absolute crazy 5 min spell. In the 50th min the impressive Gorman added to her tally of goals to give the young eagles a lead which lasted all of 2 mins as Molesey went straight down the other end to equalise. Almost immediately in their next attack Palace scored the goal of the game, Lexie Spokes played in Keyte down the line who left her defender for dead and hit a magnificent cross to the
near post where she found Gorman who lashed in a volley to the roof of the net for her 4th goal of the afternoon, the crazy period continued 2mins later when Keeley Nazareth waltzed through the defence to finish with aplomb and seal the second 3-1 win of the day.
Player of the day was easy, the hugely impressive Amy Gorman was the difference between the two sides, Amy is a new signing who is growing with confidence every week and a player that we have huge hopes for in the future.
Sunday 10th March 2013
C.Palace 2 Fleet 1 AND Fleet 3 C.Palace 1
Crystal palace entertained Fleet in another double header so playing time was reduced to 25 mins each way for both games.
Palace started the first game very well playing some of their best football for a while, it was a slick passing game that caused Fleet all sorts of problems. Early chances fell to Abi Deene who was looking very sharp until she had to leave the field of play with a facial injury. Alice Fuller was completely dominating midfield winning tackle after tackle followed by some very intelligent passing. Erica Dos Santos opened the scoring in the 18th Min when she followed up a spectacular strike from Sadiye Yilmaz who hit a great shot from 25 yards that clattered the crossbar Dos Santos was quickest to the rebound to head in giving us a 1-0 half time lead.
Fleet came into the game more in the second half but the defence coped very well, Lucy Baker and Chloe Watson coped admirably with everything thrown at them and were both absolute rocks at the heart of the defence. Fleet did, however, equalise in the 37th min with a well taken goal which caused an onslaught from a determined Palace side. Just when it looked like the game would end in stalemate a minute from time Amy Gorman broke through to score to continue her goal scoring run to secure a 2-1 win.
Fleet came out much stronger in the second game and caused a lot of problems with their pace up front, they took the lead in the 15th min as they forced the Palace defence deeper than they would have liked. Connie Lowman started to be an influence with some good midfield work along with Lucy Dolly but, cruelly, Fleet extended the lead just before the break leaving our girls a mountain to climb.
In the second period Palace showed great determination to get back in the game with the strength of Tyra Wilson up front causing problems but the Fleet defence held firm until the 32nd min when Gorman scored her second of the day to give her team a fighting chance. The girls went all out for the equaliser with a tactical change by manager, Luke Hunter, leaving just three at the back. This seemed to be working with some impressive attacking play but, inevitably, left the defence short and Fleet extended their lead before the final whistle blew.
Two very competitive games played in the right spirit and no player showed more commitment to the cause than this week’s player of the match Alice Fuller with a brave and energetic performance.
Sunday 21st April
Crystal Palace 2 Kingstonian 1 AND Kingstonian 1 Crystal Palace 1
Another double header for us this week thanks to the awful weather we have been experiencing recently so playing time was cut to 25mins each way.
Palace got off to a great start in the first game when in the 4th min great work down the left from Sadiye Yilmaz and Amy Gorman resulted in the latter passing inside to Alice Fuller who let the ball run across her body and hit a brilliant cross field pass to Bekki Keyte, she raced on to the ball and finished superbly past the hapless keeper for 1-0. The girls then came under pressure with Kingstonian pressing for an equaliser but a strong back line of Hannah Donnelly, Lexie Spokes, Lucy Baker, Chloe Watson and Yilmaz coped superbly with some very strong and determined defending. Palace went further ahead in the 12th min with an exquisite through ball from Keeley Nazareth to Abi Deene who composed herself and slotted home for 2-0. Kingstonian found their way back into the game in the 18th min with a well taken goal to make it 2-1 but following a tactical half time change were unable to break through our strong midfield and our girls ran out 2-1 winners.
After a short break the second match got under way and our opponents took the lead in the 9th min, our girls battled hard with Connie Lowman pulling the strings in midfield and it was only a matter of time before they equalised, the breakthrough came in the 19th min when a bouncing ball in the penalty area seemed to strike the defenders hand, there was a loud appeal from our girls but the ref seemed uninterested, in the confusion Deene saw her chance, took control of the ball and lashed in a fantastic left foot shot into the top corner to make it 1-1. With both teams tiring in the second half the Palace defence, again, battled well to prevent us falling behind and at the other end chances fell to Lowman, Nazareth and Tyra Wilson but the game ended 1-1
Two decent matches played in the right spirit, player of the match for the first game, Alice Fuller, played with grit, determination and quality throughout. The second game, Lucy Baker pips it just ahead of the rest of the back four who put in a great performance that did not go unnoticed by the Kingstonian manager judging by his comments at the end.
