Crystal Palace were beaten 2-1 by Brighton in the Barclays Women’s Super League after a quick second-half turnaround at Broadfield Stadium.
Palace took the lead against the run of play through Annabel Blanchard, who opened her WSL scoring account for the season in spectacular fashion. Hayley Ladd intercepted a misplaced clearance from Brighton goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie before finding Blanchard, who struck first time from more than 20 yards into the top-left corner.
It was Palace’s first attempt of the match, while Brighton had enjoyed the greater share of possession and registered eight first-half shots. Jo Potter’s side nevertheless carried their advantage into the interval.
The hosts levelled 14 minutes after the restart when Caitlin Hayes headed home. Bethany England then came close to restoring Palace’s lead with a chipped effort from outside the area, but her attempt narrowly missed the bottom corner.
Brighton completed the turnaround four minutes later. Emilie Joramo’s effort from distance was parried, allowing Sophie Peskett to follow up and convert the rebound. Palace pushed for a response, with substitute Lexi Lloyd-Smith seeing a goalbound effort deflected behind for a corner in the 82nd minute, but an equaliser did not arrive.
The result leaves Palace 13th in the table. Their next fixture is at home to 14th-placed Charlton Athletic, with kick-off scheduled for 14:00 GMT on Sunday, 8th November.
