Brighton Women 2-1 Crystal Palace Women: Hayes and Peskett turn it around after Blanchard opener
Brighton & Hove Albion Women came from behind to beat Crystal Palace Women 2-1 at Broadfield Stadium, with second-half goals turning an interval deficit into victory. The win lifts Brighton back into form after a mixed spell, while Palace continue to search for a turnaround at the wrong end of the table.
Crystal Palace took a deserved lead against the run of nothing in particular on 34 minutes, when Annabel Blanchard curled a right-footed effort from outside the box into the top corner, finished off a pass from Hayley Ladd. It gave the visitors a half-time lead and had them well on course for a first win in some time.
Brighton responded after the break. Caitlin Hayes levelled things up on 59 minutes, meeting a Manuela Vanegas cross with a header into the top corner. Five minutes later Brighton were ahead, Sophie Peskett turning home from close range after being set up by Emilie Joramo, and that proved enough to settle the contest.
The only cards of the afternoon came courtesy of Maelys Mpomé, booked for Brighton in the first half for a bad foul, and Sierra Enge, shown yellow late on for Palace shortly after coming off the bench. There was also a stoppage for treatment when Hayes needed attention following her goal, though she was able to continue.
Brighton dominated large parts of the match, finishing with 20 shots to Palace's six and a healthy 64.6% share of possession. They also had eight shots on target to Palace's two and won nine corners to the visitors' one. Palace's goalkeeper was kept busy, making six saves compared to Brighton's one, a reflection of how much of the pressure flowed towards the away goal once Brighton had equalised.
The result moves Brighton's recent Women's Super League form to LWLWW across their last five league outings, continuing an up-and-down campaign that has nonetheless yielded some big results, including a 5-1 win over Charlton last time out before this one. Palace, by contrast, slip to DDLLL in the league, with defeat following on from losses to West Ham and Chelsea in their previous two fixtures - a tough run that leaves work to be done as they look to climb away from trouble.
Substitutions shaped the closing stages for both sides. Palace brought on Lexi Lloyd-Smith and Sierra Enge shortly after going behind in search of a way back, while Allyson Swaby was introduced for the final stretch. Brighton used the whole of their bench too, including Taylor Warren, Bex Rayner, Emily Murphy and Marit Auée, as they managed the game out to full time.
It was a result that will have pleased those inside Broadfield Stadium, with Brighton showing the quality to turn a losing position into a winning one against a Palace side who were architects of a bright first-half display that ultimately went unrewarded.
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