In a league where the difference between 1st and 2nd place is 6th and 12th, the focus is on the bottom of the table, with West Ham making a stunning comeback from a two-goal deficit to beat Crystal Palace 5-2. So, for now, talk of relegation has been nullified.
The Hammers took an early lead with goals from Vivian Asay, Celaina Piuber, Manuela Pavi, Anouk Denton and Katrina Gorrie, given to the visiting team by Mille Gale and India Paige Riley, in a frigid and windy day. I wrote it off at Victoria Road.
West Ham, Palace and Leicester started the day level on five points, but the Midlands side's 4-0 loss to Manchester City meant the other relegation-threatened side are now at the bottom of the table. I had a chance to shed some light on this. It's a close race in the WSL, with just five points separating sixth-placed Tottenham on 10 points and Palace on 12.th5 o'clock, by the end of play.
Laura Kaminski's Palace took the lead for the fourth time in five games. This time they opened the scoring in the 5th minute and with 3 minutes left Kirsty Smith won the ball before Annabelle Blanchard fed Gayle, who slotted the ball under goalkeeper Kinga Shemik. I pushed it into the goal.
By the 11th minute their cushion had doubled, with Riley cutting in to the left before bobbing the ball into the bottom corner.
“We are scoring goals and creating chances, which is important,” Kaminski said before the meeting in Dagenham. She was right, Palace appeared to be moving the ball forward effectively in their first WSL season and had a visible structure, but they struggled to maintain consistency throughout the 90 minutes. “The important thing now is managing the moments in the game. We've been working hard on our composure and control,” Kaminsky said.
Unfortunately for the visiting team manager, his efforts have yet to pay off on the pitch. The fact that before the West Ham match, only Aston Villa had dropped more points, eight points off the table, than Crystal Palace's seven, was a sign of things to come.
The Hammers took the lead with Piuber's cross from the right flank, which was met by French forward Asei, who fired wide-footed at the far post.
Piuber set up the equalizer with a goal of his own, Australian midfielder Gorrie firing the Swiss forward down the right flank and past Shea Yanez at the near post.
By half-time, the turnaround was complete, as Riko Ueki's ball floated into the box, was shielded by Asei, and then Pavi slotted it into the goal.
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There was much less excitement after the break and by the hour mark, with no goals left, West Ham fans were singing “We want four”. Palace were next closest to scoring, however, when Katie Stengel was given an early warning for kicking the ball out after the whistle, spinning around a defender and having a low shot saved by Shemik.
Coach Skinner's team ended the visiting team's hopes of scoring a point with less than 10 minutes remaining, sealing the victory. Denton made an incredible run from inside the opposition half and fired home a corner, and Gorey added his fifth goal in stoppage time to turn the game around. After the ball was deflected into her path, it entered the far post.
West Ham's future looks much more comfortable at the moment, with two wins against fellow WSL bottom teams Leicester and Palace. Aston Villa are looking forward to next weekend before the winter break for an opportunity to further express their WSL credentials. For Palace, composure and defensive solidity cannot come quickly.
