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Crystal Palace Women

Holdaway opens up on difficult four-month spell

<html><head></head><body>“And then you look at the time of year I was on the sidelines: shorter, darker and colder days. Football has always been my pick-me-up, so to try and go through those wintery months without that release was hard.”
The dark four-month spell on the sidelines behind her, Holdaway has returned from her third concussion in just 16 months after Palace Women followed the Football Association’s recommended protocol.
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Concussion is a big talking point in football and it’s a talking point the governing bodies are starting to get their head around, with the United Kingdom banning children under the age of 12 from heading the ball earlier this year.
And that’s something Holdaway herself experienced. She reveals: “As the symptoms subsided I started to return to training but I had to wait for the neurologist’s report to come through before I could start heading in those sessions – which was almost a month after returning.
“It’s a weird experience playing football with the constant thought in the back of your mind about making sure you do not head the ball. However, that was also the sign that I was starting to feel like myself again - there would be occasions where I would head the ball without even thinking about it.
“It’s great that the FA are looking at their protocols around concussion and implementing preventive measures,” Holdaway reflects having gone through those steps. “There’s research out there that says women are five times more likely to sustain a concussion than men, but ultimately there isn’t too much available in terms of research on the long-term effects,” Holdaway explains.
“The club and I followed the FA protocol which included getting extra tests done with the neurologist. However, it took a while for those results to come through and I was still suffering with symptoms of the concussion two months after.
“The steps I went through also help players feel less pressure to return to the game when they aren’t ready. It’s a mentally tough injury: you’ll return to training feeling good but then during that session you’ll realise you haven’t fully recovered,” Holdaway admits.
The next comments from the 30-year-old perhaps highlight the lack of awareness surrounding the impact of a concussion – this is a lot more than just being unable to play sport. “It is one of those situations where the best form of recovery is rest,” Holdaway points out.
“For me, though, the difficulty was juggling my need to recover with working a full-time job and one that required me to stare at a computer screen all day – that’s one of the big triggers of the symptoms for people suffering from concussion.”
Thankfully for Holdaway she “had the support from the club and her place of work,” with both parties doing all they could to support the current longest-serving Palace Women’s player medically and financially.
“The girls and the management staff were great with me,” Holdaway elaborates. “They continued to involve me in everything and as captain I still wanted to have as active a role as possible. That’s how I started to experience the coaching aspect of the game – I’d watch videos of training or from games and analyse them with the coaches.
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“That has given me a greater appreciation of what my teammates do and what the coaches are looking to implement. It’s also developed my game despite not playing, as something I’ve been keen to work on is how can I affect the game from what is going on in front of me.”
After finally making her return to football you might have expected a game to ease Holdaway back in. But with eyes on more caps for Northern Ireland, her return arrived in the FA Cup, under the lights against Women’s Super League side and Palace’s rivals, Brighton &amp; Hove Albion.
It’s safe to say manager Dean Davenport and all those involved with Palace Women still have full faith in their stalwart captain.
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“I’ve found it difficult mentally,” recently returned Palace Women captain, Freya Holdaway, opens up. “At least with something like a knee injury you can see the progress and map out the steps of your recovery but if you’re suffering from concussion there’s nothing physical you can track.”

Amy Goddard talks Brighton rivalry, life at Palace and more

<html><head></head><body>We caught up with the former Yeovil Town defender for the matchday programme against Watford. Below, you can now read her column.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Looking forward to my new chapter with <a href="https://twitter.com/cpfc_w?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@cpfc_w</a>. Ready to start the season 🙌🏼🦅 <a href="https://twitter.com/NextGen_Sports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NextGen_Sports</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/DeanDavenport7?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DeanDavenport7</a> <a href="https://t.co/qNHNAv5vgi">https://t.co/qNHNAv5vgi</a>
— Amy Goddard (@AmyGoddard17) <a href="https://twitter.com/AmyGoddard17/status/1142152419268341760?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 21, 2019</a></blockquote>

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Our FA Cup run is over after a 3-0 defeat to Women’s Super League side, Brighton &amp; Hove Albion. However, games against opposition of that calibre – we’ve also played Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United and Chelsea this season – provide us with important tests and they’re matches that allow us to truly see where we are individually and collectively. 
Having arrived at Palace in the summer from a Women’s Super League side - Yeovil Town – I can say that we aren’t far off competing with the elite sides in this country. The major difference being that at WSL level you’re playing against sides full of international experience and that adds different elements to their game.
The rivalry between the two sides, especially with the game falling so close to the men’s match against Brighton, is there and you could feel that on the night with the number of fans that attended – considering it was a rearranged game for a Tuesday night, that support meant a lot to the girls.
Despite the cup exit, it has been a positive time for the club as a whole with our Development squad winning the National Reserves League Cup. It is a superb experience for that generation coming through – you can’t beat getting that taste for winning games and trophies.
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🏆⚽️ <a href="https://t.co/5e8zNUPOTV">pic.twitter.com/5e8zNUPOTV</a>
— Crystal Palace WFC Development A (@CPWFCdevA) <a href="https://twitter.com/CPWFCdevA/status/1234183232398266369?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 1, 2020</a></blockquote>

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I was delighted to see Mia Lockett, Beau Parker and Charlie Goad all score in the 5-0 win as those girls have played a few first-team minutes this campaign. This highlights the promising future that Crystal Palace Women are building and the hard work that is going in off the pitch in building a long-term structure.
Our next game is against Blackburn Rovers at Selhurst Park on Sunday 22nd March – this will be my first time playing there and I cannot wait to have that experience of walking out the tunnel. It highlights the great support the whole club is giving to the women’s section.
The game against Blackburn is massive as we currently sit level on points with them, but with a slightly worse goal difference. The league is close this season and we know that we are, like several clubs, in danger of relegation. However, we are still firmly looking up the table as we know we have the squad to achieve our pre-season aims of a top-half finish.<iframe width="956" height="538" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LAWby9Ou5rw" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
Against Blackburn I hope I am able to continue my run of having started every game this season – to have that faith from the manager from the off and to join such a welcoming squad has meant a lot to me.
We have a lot of competition at that back so to continually be picked by the manager is pleasing and it’s great for me to see the hard work I put in rewarded. I offer a physical presence at the heart of the defence and I feel like I’m approachable on and off the pitch - I’d class myself as a leader and like to think I’m a role model to the youngsters. And I’ll continue to be all those things whether selected or not.
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Palace Women's Amy Goddard may have only arrived in the summer but the centre-back is already looking like part of the furniture, having started all of Dean Davenport's side's games so far this season.

Head to Croydon Boxpark for Palace Women Q&A

<html><head></head><body>Palace Women&#39;s team will be heading down to the best red and blue venue away from Selhurst Park on Wednesday 11th March for a Q&amp;A session followed by a meet and greet afterwards, where you&#39;ll get a chance to grab autographs and selfies with the Eagles. 
The Q&amp;A will start at 7:15pm BST but the evening - hosted by The Women&#39;s Staff Network - begins at 5pm with various local performers and speakers from women in business on stage throughout the night.
Amongst the entertainment, attendees have a whole host of restaurants and bars to choose from - don&#39;t forget that Boxpark also offers a discount of up to 20% at Boxbar and selected vendors (list below) to all 2019/20 Crystal Palace Season Ticket holders (Season Ticket holders will have already received their Boxpark Black Cards through the post).
<ul>
<li>Boxpark Bar</li>
<li>The Cronx</li>
<li>What The Pitta</li>
<li>Tashi Sushi</li>
<li>The Argentinian Grill &amp; The Noodle Bar</li>
<li>Chicago Rib Bar </li>
<li>Kubo</li>
<li>Sweetbean</li>
<li>Wine &amp; Deli</li>
<li>Arancina</li>
<li>Nanny Outars</li>
<li>Greek On The Street</li>
<li>Meat Liquor </li>
<li>Oatopia</li>
<li>Poptata</li>
</ul>
You can see Palace Women in action a week on Sunday at Selhurst Park. <a href="https://tickets.cpfc.co.uk/eventdetail.aspx?e=1977" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Click here to view the discounted prices for Season Ticket holders and tickets bought in advance of the day.</a>
<a href="https://tickets.cpfc.co.uk/eventdetail.aspx?e=1977" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/228b2964-f634-4633-8f8a-909f4e14ea92.jpg" alt="Blackburn Rovers Ladies Palace Women.jpg" width="1440" height="290"/></a></body></html>

Sunday 8th March saw the world celebrate International Women's Day (IWD) but Croydon Council and Boxpark have teamed up to make the celebration of IWD a week-long event.

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Holdaway opens up on difficult four-month spell

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Crystal Palace Women Blackburn Rovers Ladies

Women's ChampionshipSelhurst Park

News & Video

Stats

Table

Women

Women

Holdaway opens up on difficult four-month spell

Latest videos

Recent Meetings

Women's Championship

Head-To-Head

Form

Season so far