Everything is to play for in the battle to stay in the Barclays Women’s Super League as bottom side Crystal Palace closed the gap to 11th-placed Aston Villa to just one point.
Palace sacked manager Laura Kaminski and replaced her with Leif Smerud at the start of March. The Norwegian’s first win with the Eagles gave them hope of avoiding immediate relegation back to the second tier.
[Embed from Getty Images](http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/2205380351)
Aniek Nouwen’s header in the 33rd minute set Palace on the way to their first win since early October 2024. Ashleigh Weerden struck in the 53rd minute to double their lead against a disappointing Aston Villa display. Lucy Parker’s goal in the 85th minute gave Villa hope, but an error by Sabrina D’Angelo meant Katie Stengel faced an empty net as she scored Palace’s third in the fifth minute of stoppage time.
The result leaves Palace only one point from safety with six games to go – and Villa looking over their shoulder.
Aston Villa started patiently and largely kept possession, but the tempo soon increased. Neither keeper was threatened, but Crystal Palace’s confidence under Smerud was notable considering their recent twelve-game winless run. Villa had a near-constant spell of good pressure, with Ebony Salmon giving them multiple chances, but most went over the crossbar.
Against the run of play in the 33rd minute, Aniek Nouwen marked her return from an ACL injury with by heading home from a set piece. The final touch came from Miri Taylor, a Villa player, but because Nouwen’s header was on target, she was credited with the goal.
The second half started with a dangerous Palace attack, with Weerden and Clarissa Larisey both narrowly putting the ball wide in the opening two minutes. Weerden hit the target in the 53rd minute, doubling Palace’s lead with a powerful left-footed strike.
[Embed from Getty Images](http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/2205389598)
Aston Villa kept pressing, with 64th-minute substitute Jordan Nobbs particularly influential. Parker slotted home a corner that Palace failed to clear with only five minutes of normal time remaining, giving Villa brief hope – but their pressure ultimately failed to pay off. Villa keeper D’Angelo put paid to hopes of a comeback in stoppage time when she gave the ball away to Stengel close to the halfway line. The American sent a low, right-footed strike into the centre of an empty Villa net to solidify Palace’s victory.
Today’s result puts Villa on incredibly unsteady footing, and they will have to be near-perfect for the rest of the season or rely on Crystal Palace being defeated if they want to remain in the WSL.
**CRY:** Yañez; Arthur, Swaby, Larkin, Woodham; Sharpe, Nouwen, Cato; Stengel; Weerden, Larisey
**AVL:** D’Angelo; Tomás, Patten, Parker, Maritz; Taylor, Baijings; Grant, Salmon, Hanson; Daly