‘We learnt our lessons’ – Kaminski previews Crystal Palace’s home clash against Manchester City
BY GINA BAGNULO
Crystal Palace women’s boss Laura Kaminski says her side have learned their lessons from their early heavy defeats to Tottenham and Manchester City – and is hoping tomorrow’s test against Manchester City will prove that.
This will mark Palace’s first match since the international break and will see them face one of the highest-performing sides in the Women’s Super League (WSL).
Manchester City are top of the WSL league table ahead of Chelsea in second and Manchester United in third.
With the club being home to WSL record goalscorers such as Jamaica-international Khadija “Bunny” Shaw, it is safe to say City will be nothing short of a formidable opponent for the Eagles.
This fixture will be Palace’s first at Selhurst since their match against Chelsea on September 26 where they lost 7-0 to the Blues.
Palace may have acquired some extra confidence since their clash with Chelsea, during which time the Eagles claimed their first-ever WSL win with a 2-0 victory over Leicester City on October 6.
“It’s very difficult for a group to fluctuate between different types of fixtures,” said Kaminski, on the calibre of opposition her team would be facing on Sunday.
“One week we would be doing this and the next week it changes and we’re doing this in terms of tactical pressure, in terms of the way that we move the ball and ultimately the outcomes of our possession and the way we’re approaching the game tactically.
“It’s very difficult to do that, for one week to keep chopping and changing and that was one thing I was very proud of in our Championship time, the ability that the group could work and understand they needed different things to win different games against different opposition and different styles. I’ve got a fortunate situation where the group can adapt to that.
“They understand what we’re coming up against and the tools we might need to break things down or to prolong our stay in the game for longer and that’s something we’ve been very focused on since the start of the season, since we learnt our lessons in the first early games.
“So for me, fluctuating between those styles is always tough but I think we did it last year and with the players we’ve added into our group, we added value in that sense. They’ve got a real grasp and understanding of what that may look like on the day so it would be an interesting test for us now to see if we can apply it.”
This game also turns focus on Poppy Prichard who is currently on loan at Crystal Palace from Manchester City. Pritchard was injured in a header against Aston Villa on October 3.
She added: “Poppy’s had an unfortunate incident where it is an ankle injury and it is taking longer than what we thought in terms of her, not her recovery, she’s set but the injury just turned out to be a little more progressed than what we initially anticipated.
“So I’m gutted for her, commitment to her rehab has been outstanding, she’s a young player and that can be frustrating when you’re on loan and you want to play, you want to get minutes, you want to show yourself and what you can do for the team and what you can do for your own individual performances so that’s been a tough learning curve for her.”
“I’m gutted for her but we’re doing everything we can to look after her, she’s on track and I can see her featuring earlier than what we anticipated in terms of her return date because I know she’s doing really well or on track at least as a minimum.
“I don’t foresee any more problems that are ongoing after that time in the span we’ve got for the injury and from then it would be returning to play with opportunities for her to get minutes and show us what she can do so it’s just going to be a bit longer for her.”