Report & Highlights: Brilliant Palace put four past Lewes

Summary:

• One change for Palace's final home game of the season, Fliss Gibbons replacing the injured Kirsten Reilly
• Molly Sharpe strikes for Eagles after just three minutes
• Hollie Olding rockets in a second soon inside ten minutes
• Kenzie Weir draws a foul in the box after 40 minutes; Lewes pull one back from a penalty
• Elise Hughes shoved over on the stroke of half-time, Coral Haines converting the spot-kick
• HT: Palace 3-1 Lewes
• Defences on top in a tighter second-half
• Palace give Lewes a few close calls
• Injury to Lewes' Emily Kraft sees 15 added minutes
• Rianna Dean gets Palace's fourth in injury-time
• FT: Palace 4-1 Lewes

Palace were once again consistent in their starting line-up this week, with Reilly replaced by Gibbons due to an injury.

Looking to sign off at home this season with style, Palace dominated the opening minutes.

Molly Sharpe put the Eagles ahead inside three minutes, spotting an opening towards the goal and committing to it, beating three players and finishing well to secure the first goal.

The Eagles' energy was high, and seven minutes later, goalscorer turned provider, Sharpe providing a brilliant pull-back towards Olding who powered home their second goal of the afternoon.

After a bright start, the game settled down for its next quarter, other than one timely interception from Aimee Everett to prevent Lewes' access to goal.

The ball stayed consistently in the middle of the pitch for a substantial amount of time, as both defences were on high alert.

Lewes did threaten briefly on the break after one Palace corner, but captain Annabel Johnson promptly slid through and cut the ball out of its tracks.

Five minutes before the interval, the game exploded into life again, as Lewes' Kenzie Weir managed to draw a foul in the penalty area which Grace Palmer converted.

But moments later, Palace's Elise Hughes was shoved over in the penalty area herself. Coral Haines took the kick, and managed convert it to secure the third goal for the Eagles with no hesitation.

Just moments after the restart, Lewes' Emily Kraft suffered a serious-looking injury which saw play stopped for 12 minutes.

When play did resume, Palace went a bit of a battle as they struggled to get the ball out of the defensive half; however, they managed to find their way out of it, as Sharpe took hold of the ball and bolted straight for the goal. At the very last moment, before she was about to take her chance, Lewes swooped in and blocked the ball.

Into the final 20 minutes, and while the visitors came close with one long-distance effort, Palace found a better foothold and began to dominate, Everett and Hughes both going close.

A quarter-of-an-hour was added for injury-time, but with Lewes pushing forward, Palace's Player of the Month, goalkeeper Fran Kitching, continued to sweep up any through balls which came her way.

Deep into injury time, forward Rianna Dean - who had only been on the pitch for 10 minutes - rounded off a fine afternoon for Palace, firing home a fourth from close range to see Palace finish at home in strong fashion.

For the final week of the season, the sixth-placed Eagles will travel to fourth-placed Charlton, knowing that a win could see them finish fifth - depending also on Southampton's result at home to Sheffield United.

Palace: Kitching (GK), Gibbons, Everett, Johnson (c), Olding (Guyatt, 90+1), Filbey, Haines, Sharpe (Bailey-Gayle, 90+1), Blanchard, Doran, Hughes (Dean, 84)

Subs not used: Negri

Lewes: Whitehouse (GK), Mason, Cleverly(c) (Thompson, 90), Hazard, Wardlaw (Copus-Brown, 90+18), Palmer, Kraft (Mushtaq, 58), Howells, Barton, McKenna (Johnson, 90), Weir

Subs not used: Moore, Dalton, Longhurst, Angel, Pursey