THE EAGLES DESTROY A POOR POOR BLUES & DESERVED NOTHING

Crystal Palace and Head Coach Jo Potter gave Amy Merricks her biggest league defeat since being in charge of Blues goals from Molly Mae-Shape Annabel Blanchard & Shanade Hopcroft made it a miserable day for Blues Women and if we want to win the WSL2 title we got tones & tones of work to do. One positive to come out of todays game apart from are fans was Poppy Irvine coming back from her loan against next weeks FA Cup third round opponents Sporting Khalsa.

FIRST HALF

The first chance of the game came for the host when Ashleigh Weerden shot was saved from Thomas for a corner from the corner  Weerden played it to Annabel  Blanchard whose cross goes wide in the 8^th minute.

Blues first chance came from a mistake from the Palace back line when Louis picked up the ball found Ji and Harrison-Murray whose shot went over the bar in the 19th^h  minute.

In the 28^th minute a shot from McGowen was straight at the Palace goalkeeper Shae Yanez. 

In the 40th minute Weerden cross found Sharpe whose shot was straight  at Thomas in the 40th minute.

But a minute later Crystal Palace  got a deserved lead when a ball over the  top from Aimee Everett which Molly-Mae Sharpe run on to it Lucy Thomas hesitated to come out and Molly lifted it over and finished it brilliant and fully deserved the lead.

HALF TIME CRYSTAL PALACE WOMEN 1-0 BLUES WOMEN 

SECOND HALF

Amy made a change at half time bringing  on Lily Crosthwaite on for Tegan McGowen.

The first chance of the second half came for Palace when a right footed shot  from Kirsty Howat misses and goes right hand side of the post in the 51^st minute.

Blues first chance of the second half came from Lily Crosthwaite pulling the ball back  to find Christie Harrison-Murray but her effort went wide of the post in the 58^th minute.

Then Annabel Blanchard had a great chance for Palace but her shot was saved by Thomas in the 61^st minute.

Then in 63^rd minute a ball over the top found Lily Crosthwaite who laid it off to Ji brilliantly but her shot went over the bar.

But in the Eagles doubled the lead in the 70th after a foul on Elise Hughes just outside of the box up stepped up Annabel Blanchard and brilliantly guided the free kick pass Lucy Thomas and also yes I think LT could have saved it but I have to give credit to Annabel a class finish.

And then Palace made it 3-0 in the 72^nd minute when a short corner was played to Shanade Hopcroft and her looping effort went into the back of the net and if you were a blues fan you can have no complaints. 

Blues  and could have had one  back from a Lucy Quinn but her shot was scuffed and went horrible wide in the 77^th minute.

But Blues should have had one when Rebecca Mckenna’s shot was brilliant saved from Shae Yanez in the 78^th minute.

The last major chance of the game  for Blues was in the 86th minute when a Oceane Hurte cross which was met on the head of Lucy Quinn  brought out of the best out off Shae Yanez a great save.

FULL TIME CRYSTAL PALACE WOMEN 3-0 BLUES WOMEN

MY THOUGHTS ON THE GAME 

This performance shows how much  work we have to do to get any chance of winning the WSL2 championship yes I have prised so much of the gaffers  work  since her arrival  but today I think it was one of worst performances under her tenure I didn’t understand the line up putting Martha Harris into the centre back position it should be Neve Herron and put Martha into the full back positions I didn’t understand why there was no Quinny & Crosthwaite like I said in my blogs before you don’t change a winning formula especially  the results we were getting before the internationally break . And we need some fight in today’s game  and grit but I didn’t see that which frustrates me coming of the villa game and Amy saying it was a Blues performance and wanted to see more of these performances and go to Palace and put in a performance like that and there will be up there with us mark my words. I think we need a centre back in January and a striker because of Simone Magil’s pregnancy people I speak to on social media  say we don’t but I think we do I think we are having an hangover losing Louise Quinn and that’s why when Big Lou retired I thought the perfect replacement was Aoife Mannion who was a free agent and we know she went to Newcastle we need something like that in January. I believe in Amy and the girls but there need to learn from todays awful defeat.

MY PLAYERS OF THE MATCH

I have to go for two Palace players the first is Ashleigh Weerden who was brilliant and caused are defence lots of problems. And the second is Palace’s goalkeeper Shae Yanez some of her saves were brilliant especially of Lucy Quinn’s header.

UP NEXT 

Its FA Cup third round weekend and we face Sporting Khalsa at StAndews@KnightheadPark and its a 14:00Kick Off.

 STEPHEN GILL KRO