Crystal Palace Women were dismantled 7-0 by Tottenham Hotspur in the Women's Super League on Saturday, their first defeat of the campaign. The match at Selhurst Park turned in the seventh minute when defender Fuka Tsunoda was shown a straight red card for a reckless tackle on Cathinka Tandberg.
A punishing afternoon
Reduced to ten players for 83 minutes, Palace were overwhelmed. Tottenham registered 42 shots, 13 on target, and spent the afternoon camped in the Palace penalty area. The hosts managed only four attempts and completed just 62 percent of their passes. Tottenham's Olivia Holdt, making her first start of the season, scored a hat-trick. Her goals came in the 49th, 61st, and 73rd minutes, with two assists from Synne Gaupset. Victoria Pelova, also starting for the first time, scored twice, while substitutes Siri Martinez and Alva Nilden added further goals.
Martin Ho, the Palace manager, made two changes to his starting lineup from the previous match. The team struggled to provide any service to forward Bethany England, who was isolated throughout. Lexi Lloyd-Smith found her positioning tested repeatedly in a difficult second half. The result leaves Crystal Palace Women eighth in the FA WSL table with four points from three games. Their goal difference has plummeted to minus six, having conceded seven times in this match alone.
Looking ahead
The defeat follows a 1-0 win over Watford and a goalless draw with Arsenal, making the team's recent form read WLDW. Palace must now regroup quickly for a trip to face Birmingham City Women on Sunday. Birmingham currently sit bottom of the table. The club will hope to have a full complement of players available for that fixture, with the squad list showing Alice Sombath remained an unused substitute and is yet to make her debut. The final whistle at Selhurst Park brought a sobering end to an afternoon that had begun with hopes of extending an unbeaten run.
This story first appeared at roundtable.io
