Women's Preview: Saints vs Crystal Palace

Saints vs Crystal Palace

Barclays Women’s Championship

St Mary’s Stadium

Sunday 5th February

Crystal Palace make the journey to the south coast ready for Barclays Women’s Championship action during Green Football Weekend.

Without any cup fixtures, Saints last game came in the form of a 0-0 draw away at Durham’s Maiden Castle in which the home team threw everything at Marieanne Spacey-Cale’s side without being able to get the decisive goal.

The Eagles’ last opponent was also Durham in the Vitality Women’s FA Cup, however, Palace fell to a 3-0 defeat. Goals from Mollie Lambert, Jess Clarke and Lily Crosthwaite saw the northern side cruise into the next round.

Palace’s trip to St Mary’s promises to be a close encounter, with both sides looking to remain at the top end of the table.

Referee: Aaron Ford

Assistant Referee: Anastasiya Voloshchuk

Assistant Referee: Peter Wilson

Fourth Official: Steven Walsh

Saints will be wearing the red and white home kit with a special Green Football Weekend twist - players will don green armbands as part of the campaign to raise awareness of environmental issues.

A close encounter at Selhurst Park saw Saints record their first ever win in the Barclays Women’s Championship. Two goals from Lexi Lloyd-Smith either side of the half was enough to cancel out Coral Haines’ effort.

Tickets are available to purchase online and on the day, with Adult tickets at £8 and Under-18s at £2.

Southampton FC are going the extra mile to go green this matchday - there’ll be vegan food on offer, mascots Sammy and Mary will be giving out Wildflower seeds and our Women’s players will be taking steps to make their matchday more eco-friendly.

“We know Palace will be a strong test for us on Sunday, just like it was when we travelled to Selhurst Park.

“They’ve had a few tough results recently, so they’ll be eager to put that right, which we’ll need to be conscious of.

“However, the girls are looking forward to being back at St Mary’s and after a good few weeks of training after that strong test in Durham, we’ll be looking to start on the front foot.”