- Crystal Palace secure 6-1 victory over Portsmouth
- Victory earns promotion back to the WSL
- The Eagles finish 2nd on 44 points
Crystal Palace Women earned automatic promotion to the Women’s Super League after their 6-1 victory over Portsmouth on the final day of the WSL2 season.
Jo Potter’s side made it 12 wins in 14 league matches after their success over relegated side Portsmouth.
The Eagles initially looked nervous coming into such a crucial game with Portsmouth taking a shock lead in the second minute. Molly Sharpe was able to bounce back, levelling the scoring in the 11th minute with her sixth goal of the season.
Heading into the second-half, with Birmingham City leading against Charlton, Palace knew they required a win for automatic promotion. The substitution of Chelsea loanee Lola Brown answered Palace’s prayers with an instant impact as minutes into the second half the 18-year-old set up a beautiful through ball to Ashleigh Weerden to take Palace into the lead.
Shortly after the English Youth International set up Weerden again with a cross to make it 3-1, before later assisting Elise Hughes to register three assists.
Palace dominated the rest of the game registering 22 shots. Kirsty Howatt, Annabel Blanchard and Elise Hughes also made it onto the scoresheet for the Eagles final-day seven-goal thriller.
WSL Return Now Confirmed
Following a Birmingham 2-0 victory over Charlton, Palace were confirmed to finish second with 44 points which earns them automatic promotion to the WSL. They narrowly missed out on being crowned champions after trailing behind Birmingham on goal difference.
Their 13th win of the season gives a great ending to Potter’s first season in charge, with the Eagles now set to feature in the Women’s top flight for the second time, just 357 days after they played their last game in their debut WSL season.
Palace were fortunate to take advantage of the second automatic promotion place, with the WSL’s expansion to 14 teams next season allowing two WSL2 teams to be automatically promoted and one more to enter a relegation play-off with a 12th-placed finish.
The promotion offers a significant opportunity for Palace to consolidate their position in the top flight if they can build on the strengths of this side.
