Report: Palace Women bounce back with brilliant win at Southampton.

he two clubs played in November at Selhurst Park in front of a record-breaking crowd for Palace. The game was high-scoring, but in recent times, the margin of victory in both sides’ games had been closer, with the Eagles coming off the heels of a close home loss to Charlton.

The only alteration to Laura Kaminski’s starting lineup from that match was the debut of highly skilled New Zealand international Ria Percival, who joined on loan from Tottenham Hotspur in January.

Within five minutes, Percival, darting forward from right-back, created the first opening goal of the match when her clipped cross found new signing Izzy Atkinson at the back post. Although the Republic of Ireland international’s first-time effort appeared to bounce wide, Southampton’s Paige Peake still managed to clear it off its trajectory.

Shanade Hopcroft was the next player to pose a threat from a distance for Palace, and just seconds before Kayla Rendell’s reflexes were put to the test by Annabel Blanchard’s snapshot inside the box, the team maintained their strong start at St Mary’s.

On minute 22, the breakthrough came when Lexi Potter cut out a play in midfield. Molly Sharpe and Blanchard then helped the ball reach Atkinson, who dribbled past her man with her left foot and blasted the most accurate low shot across the goalkeeper.

Atkinson’s stellar debut against the Addicks last weekend garnered attention, so this was just Palace’s way of rewarding her for a job well done.

The home team did answer with a few set pieces, but Demi Lambourne, the goalkeeper, made sure that the Palace goal was handled, and Aimee Everett, Elise Hughes, and Sharpe’s defensive headers were strong.

Just when it seemed like the opportunities were running out as halftime drew near, Atkinson produced space on the outskirts of the area with some more deft footwork, but Rendell was equal to her low strike.

The first real chance for Southampton came in the first few seconds of injury time when Katie Wilkinson miskicked and the ball fell at her feet, allowing Sophia Pharoah to sneak in. Lambourne, who let the Southampton striker through on goal, quickly made up for her mistake by pressing down on the forward’s shot and making an outstanding claim.

They would soon come to regret that error as Palace quickly doubled their lead when Percival intercepted a ball on the halfway line, sprinted forward, passed to Hughes, and struck the base of the post with her first attempt.

After the play, Hughes tapped the rebound into an open net with delight, scoring her 14th goal in as many Championship games this season.