It is that time of the week for our chat with the chairman of the Palace Ladies Richard Spokes who told us about their weekend of football action. You can follow the Palace Ladies on Twitter and Facebook but make sure you check out their own website.
Last Sunday saw perhaps the most disappointing weekend for some time for our first team and reserves. The fixtures had the potential to deliver so much more that two rather frustrating goalless draws.
Following the heroics of the FA Cup tie the previous week, the first team hosted Bedford at Bromley Football Club. It was our first league match since December.
Perhaps the lack of league action was a part of the outcome. Despite this and the changes in some personnel, coach Dean Davenport was confident that a result could be delivered. Frustratingly, this did not go as planned and saw the Eagles end the game without seeing a goal after a disappointing and disjointed showing.
This type of game is rare for the ladies and is unlikely to be repeated, according to Dean:
We all know that we occasionally get those games where it just does not happen for us, and we can accept that. However, in this case I felt that we did not do ourselves justice and could not just blame bad luck. This is down to all of us, me included, and something that we will all work hard on to rectify ahead of a tough home game next Sunday.
Our reserves travelled to lowly but plucky Lewes Ladies and experienced a carbon copy of the experiences at Bromley. On a very testing pitch and against a disruptive and single-minded opponent, the Eagles were not able to break down the defensive ranks or add that essential moment of quality in the last third, in a game that saw only a couple of shots on target for the hosts.
Despite plenty of pressure and late opportunities, including a shot against the post, Palace returned back up the M23 as disappointed and frustrated as those leaving the pitch at Bromley.
Even though the two results were disappointing, other results did not unduly harm them so positives are being drawn and it is on to the next challenge in the respective campaigns.
The reserves face a very tricky match away at Portsmouth this Sunday where they hope their recent form can be recovered. Meanwhile, at Bromley, the first team host Denham Ladies with kick off at 2pm and ground entry from 12.30pm at £3 for adults and free entry for under 16s.
Elsewhere across the club our juniors and development squad secured some excellent results. Club statistics from last weekend:
- Games played 14
- Games won 10
- Games drawn 2
- Games lost 2
Our wins were:
- Under 11s (3-1)
- Under 12 Reds (2-0)
- Under 12 Blues (2-1)
- Under 12 Whites (1-0)
- Under 13 Reds (4-2)
- Under 14 Blues (walkover)
- Under 15 Blues (3-0)
- Under 16 (4-0)
- Under 18s (3-1)
- Dev B friendly (5-1)
All support is very welcome at all of our games, as we continue to create a real buzz in and around the women’s game. Our support is as big a part of this as anything. Thank you to everyone for doing their bit. It really is sincerely appreciated.
We are Palace and we are very proud of it!
