Womens football round-up: Palace suffer Super League relegation – London City Lionesses on cusp of Championship promotion
Leif Smeurd said his Crystal Palace side have “not been good enough” over the course of a season after their Super League relegation was confirmed on Sunday following a 7-1 defeat against West Ham.
The Eagles have two games of the normal campaign to go, but they are seven points behind Leicester and have a minus-42 goal difference from 20 games.
Laura Kaminski started the season in charge after leading the South Londoners to the Championship title last season.
She was sacked and replaced by Smerud in March when the Eagles were just four points from safety.
Palace have conceded 58 goals this term—16 more than Tottenham, who have the second-worst defence. The Eagles have also scored just 16 times, one more than Leicester, the lowest scorers.
Smeurd told the BBC: “Over a year in football you get what you deserve and we have to acknowledge we have not been good enough.
“We have to look at the facts and they are that we have not been good enough, not today and not during the season. It’s not that difficult, you don’t have to be an expert to see that.
“Overall, we have to learn from it, as a club and as a team.
“We are disappointed. The Palace supporters want to see us performing and today we couldn’t do it, and we’ll try to do it against Leicester and finish the season as we should.
“Today we are disappointed – rather than looking forward.”
London City Lionesses will secure promotion to the Super League on Sunday if they avoid defeat to title-challengers Birmingham at St Andrew’s Stadium.
Jocelyn Precheur’s side are two points clear of the Blues with one game to go.
The Hayes Lane-based outfit could have sealed the title on Sunday but were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Durham – Izzy Goodwin scored in the second half.
Charlton Athletic can secure a third-placed finish in the Championship on Sunday when they head to Southampton.
Karen Hills’ side are unbeaten in their last 10 league outings but have been unable to turn some of their draws into wins and close the gap to the top of the table.
Millwall Lionesses end their campaign on Sunday at home to Ashford United.
Ted Jones’ side are seventh in the London & South East Regional Women’s division and can finish sixth if they collect three points and Ebbsfleet lose against Saltdean United.
AFC Wimbledon ended their season with a 4-0 win over Billericay Town.
Emily Donovan and Hannah Mackenzie netted, with Ashlee Hincks scoring a brace, at Plough Lane.
Kevin Foster’s side finished seventh in the Women’s National League Southern Premier Division.
