Palace clinch promotion in front of record crowd
Crystal Palace have been promoted to the Women’s Super League for the first time, after securing the Championship title with a 0-0 draw at home to Sunderland.
Having started the season’s final day with a three-point and 22-goal advantage over second-placed Charlton Athletic, Crystal Palace’s promotion was already all but mathematically certain, but that did not stop them celebrating with real vigour at full time in front of a clubrecord 6,796 fans at Selhurst Park.
The stalemate was somewhat uncharacteristic for a Palace team whose rise has been defined by their ruthless goalscoring, having netted almost twice as many goals as their nearest rivals in the second tier. Wales forward Elise Hughes,
and her strike partner Annabel Blanchard, have scored a combined 27 goals across the 22 games.
Securing the sole promotion spot means Palace will play WSL football for the first time, just five years on from finishing second-bottom in the Championship.
In the top tier, yesterday’s action was defined by late goals, the most dramatic of which was scored by 16-year-old and lifelong Everton fan Issy Hobson in the 95th-minute to draw level against Arsenal at Walton Hall Park.
Hobson headed home to become the WSL’S youngest goalscorer at 16 years and 180 days, and by cancelling out Alessia Russo’s opener.
There was also a 95th-minute equaliser for West Ham United, through Shannon Cooke, in the 1-1 draw at Aston Villa. Bethany England equalised with nine minutes left to earn Tottenham Hotspur a 1-1 draw at home to Brighton.
Elsewhere, a thunderous strike from England’s Ella Toone with seven minutes to play gave
Manchester United a 1-0 win at
Leicester City.
In Europe, the next Chelsea manager, Sonia Bompastor, secured a place in the Champions League final on May 25 with Lyon. The record eight-time champions saw off their domestic rivals Paris Stgermain 5-3 on aggregate.