Crystal Palace 4-4 Saints

• VBS Community Stadium
• 14/09/2025
• Attendance: 896
• Goals:
  • Crystal Palace 4
    • Larkin 24'
    • Vanhaevermaet 28'
    • Larkin 58’
    • Weerden 60'
  • Saints 4
    • McAlonie 3'
    • Brazil 41'
    • Bourne 50'
    • Collett 64'


With games being shown live on the WSL2 YouTube channel, I did get to watch this, but I have been hampered by a heavy cold this week, so I haven’t felt like doing anything on my laptop. So here are some highlights of the report from the Saints website.

Off the back of a super start to the season in last weekend’s 4-0 win over Ipswich Town, Simon Parker’s side scored four goals again in a very different affair in the capital. 
Michaela McAlonie, Ellie Brazil, Tara Bourne and Meg Collett scored Saints’ four, with Bourne scoring from the penalty spot, but the end-to-end battle was 2-2 at the break and finished 4-4 at full-time.

Saints started strongly from the off and secured an early lead through McAlonie, who got herself off the mark inside the first three minutes. Brazil beat her player with some footwork trickery, and Palace failed to clear her ball into the box, allowing McAlonie to poke the ball home from close range.

The Eagles drew the game level in the 24th minute, though, through Abbie Larkin, who slotted the ball past Fran Stenson to cap off a flowing team move.

They quickly earned a second to turn the scores around when Justine Vanhaevermaet netted at the back post following Palace’s third corner of the game.

Saints weren't going to roll over, though, as they rallied to bring the game back level once more; Jess Simpson raced to the byline and cut the ball into the box to find Brazil, who tapped home from close range. Saints started brightly again in the second half, and after just two minutes had earned themselves a penalty.

The referee pointed to the spot and showed a yellow card to Yañez after the goalkeeper rushed off her line to intercept Brazil, but was adjudged to have committed a foul. Centre-back Bourne stepped up to the spot and finished low into the corner to restore the lead for Saints and give them an identical opening to the half.

The game was set for end-to-end chaos once more, though, as the score was drawn level for the third time when Larkin fired the ball into the net from outside the box with a venomous strike.

In a carbon copy of the first half, the game's seventh goal was quickly added to the scoresheet when Ashleigh Weerden picked up possession from Collett’s clearance and blasted the ball into the far side of the goal.

However, Collett swiftly recovered at the other end as she attacked down the right wing and squeezed the ball into Yañez’s goal from a narrow angle to level the game again.