Report & Highlights: Palace Women beat Aston Villa in Sutton thriller

Summary:

• Nouwen is handed her first start for the club, whilst three academy graduates make the bench for the first time.
• 11: Salmon picks up the ball in an advanced position but her tame effort is easily gathered by Yañez
• 15: Larisey pounces on a Villa error but her cross can't find a Palace player in the box
• 31: Great work from Cato leads to a snapshot from Stengel, which forces a corner for Palace
• 33 – GOAL: A wonderful corner from Woodham finds Nouwen who powers a header into the back of the net
• HT: Palace 1-0 Villa
• 48: Weerden puts Larisey through but the Canada international puts her shot wide
• 53 – GOAL: Weerden cuts inside and lashes a fierce strike beyond D'Angelo to double Palace's lead
• 66: Weerden does well to keep the ball in the Villa box and find Stengel, but the forward's effort is saved
• 68: Villa strike the bar with a looping effort
• 79: Sharpe clears a long ball up the field which Weerden races on to, but she can't get her final ball right
• 85 – GOAL: Villa get a goal back from a corner, with Parker volleying in from close range
• 90+5 – GOAL: Goalkeeper D'Angelo pushes up for an equaliser, but Stengel steals the ball and finishes into an open net to win it for Palace
• FT: Palace 3-1 Villa

It was a day of firsts for Palace, as the Eagles earned their first home WSL win of the season at the VBS Community Stadium.

January loan signing Aniek Nouwen was handed her first start in Palace colours, playing her first game in 466 days since suffering an ACL injury in December 2023.

There was a proud moment for Palace Women's Academy as well, with three players named on the bench for the first time.

Palace enjoyed the majority of possession and chances in the first-half, with Clarissa Larisey causing havoc in the Villa box.

15 minutes in, the Canada international pounced on a mistake from the Villa defence but couldn't get her delivery right as Palace searched for an opener.

The Eagles did get their goal on 33 minutes however, as Nouwen made it 1-0 on her debut.

Lily Woodham floated a delightful cross in from a corner, and Nouwen was there to power a header beyond the Villa goalkeeper – an effort which went in despite an attempted clearance on the line.

It was a special moment for the defender as she marked her long-awaited return to the game and her Palace debut with a vital goal.

Palace started the second-half in the perfect way, with Ashleigh Weerden doubling the lead in the 53rd minute.

Weerden received the ball from Katie Stengel, cut inside on her left foot and lashed a powerful effort past Sabrina D'Angelo and into the bottom corner.

Villa increased the pressure in the second-half to try and get back into the game, and Jordan Nobbs struck the bar from distance with a looping strike.

The away side's efforts paid off in the 85th minute, with Lucy Parker scoring from a corner, hooking home amidst a crowd of bodies.

Tensions were high in the closing stages of the game as Villa pushed for an equaliser, but it was Palace who scored the final goal.

With only seconds remaining on the clock, resolute Palace defending saw the ball cleared high up the field to Villa goalkeeper D'Angelo who had pushed up to the halfway line.

D'Angelo made a mess of her clearance and Stengel was there to steal the ball and pass into an empty net to make it 3-1.

The VBS Community Stadium erupted at full-time as Palace secured a crucial three points in the WSL.

This result puts Palace only one point behind Aston Villa in the league, with another huge game away against Everton awaiting Smerud and the team on Saturday 22nd March.

You can support the team on the road, with tickets for the Everton game available here!

Palace: Yañez (GK), Woodham, Swaby, Nouwen, Cato, Green, Arthur, Sharpe, Weerden (Atkinson, 87), Larisey (Hughes, 90+2), Larkin, Stengel

Subs not used: Majasaari (GK), Blanchard, Ezeh, Thompson, Rowe

Villa: D'Angelo (GK), Tomas (Pacheco, 78) Patten, Daly (Turner, 63), Parker, Maritz (Nunes, 63), Salmon, Hanson (Nobbs, 63), Baijings, Grant, Taylor (Kearns, 63)

Subs not used: Talbert (GK), Robinson, Maltby