Chelsea booked our place in the semi-finals of this season's Adobe Women's FA Cup thanks to Lauren James' well-struck second-half goal at Kingsmeadow.
The Blues were on top against Crystal Palace right from the off in this home quarter-final, but we had to be patient as we searched for the breakthrough.
Aggie Beever-Jones and Catarina Macario had goals ruled out for offside either side of half-time, while James and Johanna Rytting Kaneryd both went agonisingly close when presented with great opportunities, but it took over an hour for us to take the lead.
It arrived with a fine first-time strike from James, firing in the loose ball after a corner, and the Blues never looked back from there. We saw out the victory in comfort, even if we were unable to extend our lead in the closing stages.
The selection
Sonia Bompastor made five changes from the league win over Leicester City. Hannah Hampton retained her place in goal, as did centre-backs Millie Bright and Nathalie Bjorn ahead of her. Ashley Lawrence and Sandy Baltimore replaced Lucy Bronze and Niamh Charles as the full-backs.
Erin Cuthbert and Wieke Kaptein came in to midfield, with Oriane Jean-Francois, Johanna Rytting Kaneryd and Mayra Ramirez the other players to make way. Catarina Macario led the attack, supported by Lauren James, Aggie Beever-Jones and Maika Hamano.
Before kick-off there was a minute's silence in memory of Poppy Atkinson, who tragically passed away aged 10 after being struck by a car while playing football. Both teams also joined the football community in paying tribute to Poppy by wearing black armbands.
The action began with Chelsea on the front foot, although there was a lengthy pause in play after three minutes while Crystal Palace’s Fliss Gibbons received treatment, having bravely blocked a powerful shot by James from the edge of the box.
As we piled on some early pressure the first real chance didn’t take to long to arrive. It came from excellent work by Lawrence on the right, twisting and turning to make space to deliver a pinpoint cross, but Beever-Jones couldn’t quite jump high enough and her header went over the bar.
Palace showed signs of their own threat on the counter, though, with Lawrence having to make a crucial intervention at the other end of the pitch to snuff out an attack, as Ashleigh Weerden threatened to make room for the shot as she entered to box.
Knocking on the door
There was no question it was the Blues who were looking the more likely to get the first goal, and James will be disappointed that she didn’t score it with 17 minutes on the clock. A patient move ended with another excellent cross by Lawrence, this time going all the way to drop at the back post, but James’ close-range volley found the side-netting.
Beever-Jones then forced the game’s first save from Palace keeper Shae Yanez in an almost identical move, which flowed from right to left before Baltimore picked out Aggie with a cross to the far post. This time she got over the ball to head down, but Yanez was able to turn it wide with her feet.
A couple of close calls from Chelsea corners followed. Beever-Jones was denied a goal by the offside flag after tapping in Macario’s pass at the back post, and Catarina herself dragged a shot narrowly wide from a tight angle, but we were still searching for the breakthrough as we entered the half-time break, despite some lovely flowing play from the Blues.
Chelsea went straight on the attack at the start of the second half too, aided by fresh legs following the introduction of Sjoeke Nusken and Johanna Rytting Kaneryd during the break, Hamano and Kaptein the two players making way.
Still searching
Chelsea's pursuit of the opening goal continued, as Macario tested Yanez early on in the second half, while Hampton had to be sharp of her line to beat Clarissa Larisey to an early ball in behind on a Crystal Palace counter-attack.
Rytting Kaneryd had a glorious opportunity when she was found at the back post by Baltimore's deep cross, but she couldn't connect cleanly with her volley at an awkward height and the keeper was able to watch it wide.
For the second time this afternoon the Blues then had the ball in the back of the net, only to see the goal ruled out for offside. On this occasion it was Macario who had her celebrations cut short, after she swept Mayra Ramirez's square pass into the top corner at the second attempt.
Ramirez looked keen to make her mark on the game shortly after being introduced from the bench, firing a powerful low shot at the near post, which was saved by the feet of Yanez. We were getting closer and closer, though. Surely it was only a matter of time before the Blues made an impact on the score sheet.
Opener arrives
That proved to be the case as James got us off the mark with just over an hour played. It came from a set-piece, as Bright's header from a Baltimore corner was blocked and bounced invitingly towards our No10 just inside the area. She made no mistake, firing a first-time left-footed shot into the bottom corner, beyond the keeper's reach.
Chelsea clearly weren't finished there either, with Cuthbert and Rytting Kaneryd both tried their luck with snapshots in the moments which followed the opening goal. There was not let-up in the pressure we were exerting on the visitors after taking the lead.
Clear chances were few and far between, though, meaning as we entered the final 10 minutes of this FA Cup tie, our advantage remained at just the solitary goal. However, even though we weren't able to extend that advantage further, the lead never really looked under threat, with Hampton remaining a spectator right up until the final whistle sounded on our quarter-final victory.
What it means
It is Chelsea's name which now goes into the hat for the Adobe Women's FA Cup semi-finals draw, which takes place later this afternoon. We join Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool in the last four, with those matches scheduled for the weekend of 12-13 April.
What is next
Chelsea are back in cup action again next weekend, this time with the season's first piece of silverware up for grabs. The first of our four consecutive matches against Manchester City comes in the Women's League Cup final at Pride Park in Derby, with kick-off at 12.15pm on Saturday 15 March.
The teams
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Hampton; Lawrence, Bright (c), Bjorn, Baltimore; Kaptein (Nusken h-t), Cuthbert (Jean-Francois 74); Beever-Jones (Ramirez 55), Hamano (Rytting Kaneryd h-t), James (Charles 83); Macario
Unused subs: Spencer, Bronze, Brown, Fishel
Scorer: James 64
Crystal Palace (4-3-3): Yanez; Riley (Larkin 53), Swaby (c), Gibbons, Woodham (Hughes 80); Sharpe, Cato, Arthur; Larisey (Stengel 77), Blanchard, Weerden (Atkinson 53)
Unused sub: Majasaari
Booked: Gibbons 41, Yanez 53, Hughes 90+7