New Era, Same Old Drama: Palace Stun Everton in WSL Thriller
South London bathed in September sunshine, seven debutants thrown straight into the deep end, and a historic strike that instantly rewrote the club’s history books. Crystal Palace did not just return to the Barclays Women’s Super League; they seized it by the scruff of the neck.
Jo Potter tore up the rulebook for this opening-day showdown, handing out seven debuts—including a completely overhauled front three. That bold gamble paid off in spectacular fashion as the Eagles bullied Everton from back to front, clinging on through a heart-stopping finale to secure a famous 1-0 win.
Lloyd-Smith Breaks the Drought
For half an hour, both sides traded blows without landing a glove, canceling each other out in a tactical chess match. Then, the game detonated.
On 34 minutes, Aimee Everett launched a hopeful long ball forward. Everton defender Rion Ishikawa completely misjudged the flight, allowing new signing Lexi Lloyd-Smith to pounce. Lloyd-Smith burned past the scrambling Toffees backline and poked the ball past Courtney Brosnan into the bottom corner. The stadium erupted, mobbing the new No. 7 as she slammed home Palace’s first WSL goal since May 2025.
Everton nearly ruined the party right on the stroke of half-time when Zara Kramžar crashed a header against the crossbar, but Palace survived the scare to lead at the break.
Resolute Defence Seals Historic Three Points
Palace completely dictated the tempo after the interval. Fuka Tsunoda and Shanade Hopcroft ran absolute rings around the Everton midfield, pulling every string in the park.
Substitute Abbie Larkin came off the bench to rattle the crossbar on 69 minutes, before Bethany England fired just over as the hosts hunted a killer second goal.
Then came the inevitable late onslaught. Everton threw everything forward during eight agonizing minutes of stoppage time, but Potter’s rearguard refused to crack. Debutant goalkeeper Pauline Peyraud-Magnin claimed cross after dangerous cross with heroic authority, before England pulled off the ultimate goal-saving block right on her own line in the dying seconds.
The final whistle triggered wild celebrations across South London. Palace are back, they have their first three points on the board, and the rest of the WSL has officially been put on notice.
