Women’s football round-up: Palace make history in FA Cup but London City Lionesses bow out
edmund@slpmedia.co.uk
Crystal Palace progressed to the quarter-finals of the Women’s FA Cup for the very first time after a 2-0 win over Newcastle on Sunday.
The Eagles knocked out the Championship side through two late goals – Ashleigh Weerden netted in the 81st minute and Abbie Larking scored in the 94th minute.
Palace are rock bottom of the Super League, having won just once all season, but they are enjoying some form in the FA Cup.
“We were a bit sluggish in the first half,” said Palace boss Laura Kaminski. “But we came out after half-time and the bench made a really good impact.
“To grind them down, they were very organised – credit to Newcastle. But we played some good football and made some good decisions in and around the final third.
“It’s something we have been working on for some time now. We will take the two goals.”
Top goalscorer from last season Elise Hughes, who netted 16 goals in 21 Championship outings, replaced Katie Stengel in the final moments of the game to make her first appearance for Palace since April 2024 after suffering an ACL injury.
“She had earned that in training,” said Kaminski.
“She has shown great strength and she has been finishing well in training. She hasn’t wasted a moment of her rehab. The team put her in a place where we could get her on the pitch.
“She showed great strength to hold the ball up for us. In future weeks to come, fingers crossed, she can crack on and progress.”
Five-time FA Cup winners Chelsea came from a goal down to beat Everton and keep their quadruple hopes alive and reach the quarter-finals.
Catarina Macario, Mayra Ramirez, Maika Hamano and Sandy Baltimore found the back of the net with Sonia Bompastor’s side are now unbeaten in 23 games.
The French boss said: “We conceded the first goal, which has not always happened to us, but we were calm enough to believe that we have the strengths and the qualities to come back in the game. It shows our mental strength.
“I was really pleased with the reaction of the players. They stayed confident and they believed it was possible for us to come back.
“They were not rushing on the pitch and stuck to the game plan.”
Championship high-flyers London City Lionesses were knocked out of the cup by Super League giants Arsenal.
Laia Codina and Stina Blackstenius scored for the Gunners to see Jocelyn Precheur’s side exit the competition.
Precheur said: “We know that the gap is huge between our project at London City in comparison to a Champions League club like Arsenal.
“It was a good opportunity for us to compete with such a good team like Arsenal.
“I’m proud of my players on the pitch. We defended well. It’s a defeat, but our team is improving, and our players are improving.
“I believe in my players, promotion is clearly what we want. We want to be promoted as fast as possible, but we will take it game by game. Now it’s about how we respond.”
In the quarter-final, the losing side will receive £22,500 and the winning club £90,000.The matches take place across the weekend of March 8-9.
AFC Wimbledon fell to a late 2-1 defeat at Plough Lane against Plymouth on Sunday.
Dior Knorr gave the Dons the lead after breaking through the Argyle defence and to slot beyond the keeper.
Plymouth equalised in the 39th minute and secured all three points in the 97th minute through Charlotte Whitmore.
PICTURE: ALAMY