Crystal Palace Ladies FC

C.Palace Dev Res 1 Surrey Eagles 1

Top of the table Crystal palace welcomed third place Surrey Eagles to the NSC, a game that would prove to be a very physical test for our 16/17 year olds.

Following a previous 2-1 defeat and 7-1 victory we really didn’t know what to expect from Surrey but it soon became clear that they had bought their strongest squad.

In a half of few chances that became a midfield battle, and a very physical one at that, Palace matched their more experienced opponents in every department and battled for every ball. Kaysh Brown exchanged passes with Bekki Keyte on 10 mins but chipped just over and on 21 mins Ella Aylett fed Keely Nazareth who rounded the keeper brilliantly but succumbed to a last ditch tackle by the defender, soon after Abi Deene struck wide.

At the other end Hannah Donnelly saved brilliantly with a shot that came in from the right and Lucy Baker headed off the line, 15 mins from time the Surrey striker broke through to find herself one on one with Donnelly who advanced and kept her eyes on the ball, the striker shot to her left and turned to celebrate but Donnelly somehow managed to stick out a glove to tip it wide as she was moving in the opposite direction to produce one of the best saves I have seen at this level.

Surrey almost took the lead just before the break from a corner that looked to be heading for the advancing striker but Lexie Spokes somehow managed to stretch high enough and got just enough of her head on it to divert it and the chance came to nothing.
The second half was much the same as the first but did produce a couple of goals, Surrey took the lead early on from another corner that swung in viciously from the left, it was met with a firm header and, despite a brilliant effort by Deene to clear off the line, the striker prodded home.

Palace tried to battle back but found themselves up against a strong and well organized back four, Connie Lowman and Tyra Wilson came on to add strength up front and the hard working Ash Marchant added bite to the midfield as Palace continued to press. Surrey were looking dangerous from set pieces and threatened to extend the lead but two excellent headers from Anais Reynolds kept us in the game. Ten minutes from time came the highlight of the game when Sadiye Yilmaz advanced from the back to feed the industrious Alice Fuller, she knocked it wide to Lowman who crossed into the box, the ball came back to Fuller who hit a wonder strike from 25 yards that sailed into the net to set off jubilant celebrations on and off the pitch.

Palace lost the influential Keyte with a bloodied nose as they pushed for a winner but Surrey held on and the match finished 1-1, a fair result in a very entertaining game.

More lessons learnt today as we had to deal with a physical side who hassled every player, appealed for everything from the referee and questioned every decision. Our girls just got their heads down and played football to get the draw that they deserved