Despite a hearty performance in the opening half, a clinical Manchester City side were able to get the better of Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park in a 3-0 victory on the road. Palace head coach Laura Kaminski spoke to the media following the clash, providing her assessment on the performance.
“I thought that we nullified a lot of their threats. We marked better in the box. We protected the box for longer periods of time, defended better and wide areas. The shape we made an adjustment in game shows the players tactically can respond to information.”
‘This side is capable of competing’
Palace have come leaps and bounds from the opening weekend performance against Chelsea, where a second-half rout saw the Eagles thrashed 7-0.
Speaking on the positive progress we have seen in her side, Kaminski expressed “Our journey looks different. This side is capable of competing, drawing and beating a good side, but it will come later. It won’t come six games into the WSL. We might have to wait a little bit longer for that, but it’s important that we close the gap and we shorten the margin. And I think we’ve demonstrated today that we’ve done that.”
Substitutes ‘fantastic‘ on the occasion
The second half substitutes seemed to make the difference for Palace in gaining momentum, as Ashleigh Weerdan orchestrated several chances from the width before Izzy Atkinson nearly wrote her name on the scoresheet.
Speaking on how the changes impacted the game, Kaminski praised “I thought the subs that came on impacted the game. They were fantastic.”
“They really turned the game over in terms of getting us some pressure higher up the pitch, on their back line, which was positive to see, positive to see those subs are making that impact.”
Crystal Palace ‘will be worth the wait’
Kaminski spoke in great depth in regards to the transitional period that Palace are in, noting how she “doesn’t look at the table- it’s distracting for me.”
She continued, “I certainly don’t put points on games, because anything can happen, and anything can happen for this team. This team has great grit and resilience, and on the day, there’s no reason why they can’t beat a top side. But it might take longer, but it’ll be worth the wait.”
