Blanchard nets brace as Crystal Palace Women record very first WSL win at Leicester

BY GINA BAGNULO  

Crystal Palace recorded their very first WSL win on Sunday in a 2-0 victory over Leicester City at the King Power Stadium on Sunday. 

A second-half brace from Annabel Blanchard saw the Eagles make history after conceding 11 goals in their opening two league games of the season.

Both teams seemed equally matched in the first half, with both Palace and Leicester taking four shots each.

The first half ended in a goalless draw. However, for Laura Kaminski’s side, in their previous games against Chelsea and Aston Villa, games have run away from them in the second half.

But against Leicester, this was quickly proven not to be the case as Blanchard capitalised on a slip from Mille Gejl before firing the ball into the Leicester net. 

The Eagles were presented with an opportunity to double their lead minutes later after Leicester’s Ruby Mace gave away a foul inside the area. 

Blanchard stepped up to take the penalty and scored the second goal of the match, sealing their first three points of the season and moving Palace away from the foot of the table.

Palace manager Laura Kaminski said: “It’s made history with the club, which I’m extremely proud of.

“I thought the players deserved the points from their performance. We’ve worked extremely hard and been through a very tough start in the WSL.

“To keep their minds focused and learning throughout the weeks that we’ve had, to apply that today in terms of the execution of what we were asking them to do, I thought was fantastic. I thought they deserved to win the game.

“It just goes to show that now we really need to keep our feet on the ground, not be too high with the highs, too low with the lows. 

“I was asking the players to really stay steady in the two games that we’ve lost previously, so now I certainly won’t be asking them to celebrate too hard. 

“It’s one game, but we need to take the positives from this game, the positives from the two previous games, and try to improve and get better as a group.” 

Being a long-term member of the squad and scoring the two first WSL goals for her club, Blanchard’s performance was nothing short of exceptional, and Kaminski shares the sentiment.

“Annabelle was outstanding last year for us last season,” said the former Charlton assistant.

“I’ve had to keep her feet on the ground with that one because she left the Championship as an outstanding player, probably one of the best players that I think the Championship has ever seen. 

“But transferring that to the world stage of the Women’s Super League is extremely difficult and challenging. 

“She’s had a rough two weeks. Again, she’s had a bumpy ride in terms of pre-season and the first two league games.

“But, today, and in other moments of other games, she has really shown that she can transfer this into the Women’s Super League, and I was so pleased and proud for her today because I knew how much those goals meant for her and meant to us as a group.”

PICTURE: PA