Southampton Women FC won 3-1 at home to Crystal Palace in a brilliant end-to-end clash. Here are my player ratings for the game.
Saints
Fran Stenson – 7 Made an excellent save early on to keep the score level, and was very commanding in her box. Could have done better with the Palace goal in the first half if I was being picky. Made a crucial save with 7 minutes to play to keep Saints ahead!
Amy Goddard – 6 Commanding performance at the back, despite having very little to do in the first half. A good defensive showing when called upon, though.
Tara Bourne – 8 Was an engine all game. On the ball, Bourne acted like a holding midfielder, but off the ball, she dropped in to support the backline. Great game!
Ellie Brazil – 10 HAT-TRICK HERO! Was lively all game and opened the scoring with a tidy finish. Also grabbed the second goal, calmly slotting home after her first effort was blocked. Caused chaos down the right flank all game, a real handful. Was booked in the first half, but still a huge asset to this Saints team! The player of the match easily, with an incredible performance!
Chloe Peplow – 6 A quiet game from Peplow, but she ran a lot and did a lot of the unseen work. Nearly fired a shot in from the edge of the box in the second half, but it just went wide.
Micheala Mcalonie – 8 Got the assist for Brazil’s first goal, and was very unfortunate not to score after firing off the post after a smart Saints move. Pressed the Palace defence well and helped her team out by tracking back. Should have scored a third for Saints after a one-on-one was saved.
Mary Bashford 7 – Combined really well with Collett and Brazil down the right and linked the play between the defence and attack really effectively.
Jess Simpson – 7 Put in a lot of yards and battled hard down the left side. Kept Palace’s right-hand side quiet and contained a lot of attacks.
Atlanta Primus – 8 Lead the line brilliantly, a strong overall game from Primus. When out of possession, dropped in to help her team out and battled all game!
Megan Collett – 10 So nearly my player of the match! Combined well with Brazil down the right-hand side. Had a tricky test being up against the tricky Weerden, but defended all game brilliantly. Excellent performance!
Aimee Palmer – 7 Grew into the game and battled very hard in the middle of the pitch for the Saints. Played some really nice passes and kept it composed in the middle of the pitch. Got booked in the second half but it was a foul that stopped a dangerous Palace breakaway. Was replaced in the 65th minute.
Subs:
Tegan Mcgowan – 8 Came on for the last 25 minutes and played a right-midfield role as the Saints shifted into a defensive shape. For the last 10, she played a left-wing role and got an assist for the third goal too!
Milly Mott – 6 Came on for the last 5 minutes, to sure up the defense. Hard to give a rating above a six after not playing many minutes.
Crystal Palace
Ashleigh Weerden – 9 Was lively all game down the left-hand side, and scored in weird circumstances, after what appeared to be a cross looped over the Saints keeper to give Palace a lifeline in the first half.
Aimee Everett – 6 Struggled to contain the Saints’ attack, and playing against Primus was always going to be a difficult test for the Palace skipper.
Elise Hughes – 7 Held the ball up well for her teammates, but was feeding off scraps for most of the game. Had a header brilliantly saved in the opening stages of the match. Was subbed off with 10 minutes to play.
