Annabel Blanchard: 100 Palace Appearances

Women

2 hours ago

Midfielder Annabel Blanchard has become the latest Palace Women's player to reach 100 appearances, after her goalscoring performance in the 2-1 away win at Sunderland on Sunday.

It was only right that Crystal Palace Women's third-ever centurion would score in her 100th game too, as Blanchard's goal put the Eagles ahead with 20 minutes on the clock at the Stadium of Light.

After Abbie Larkin's pass ricocheted into her path, Blanchard made no mistake in taking a touch and then sweeping the ball beyond Demi Lambourne.

With Palace winning the game 2-1, it was the perfect way to celebrate one of the very best players to wear the shirt.

Let's take a look through some of Blanchard's best moments in South London...

Liverpool to London

Born in Liverpool, Blanchard came through the Liverpool Women's Academy and made her professional debut aged just 17 against Arsenal.

She played all the way up to England Under-19's level, scoring three goals in six appearances for the Young Lionesses.

Blanchard left Liverpool in 2019 and had two years at Leicester City, as well as a season at Blackburn Rovers before joining Palace in the summer of 2022.

With her putting pen to paper in South London, so began the start of a brilliant Palace career.

Off to a flyer

It only took Blanchard two games to get her first goal in red and blue, curling one into the bottom corner against Coventry to score on her home debut.

She ended her first Palace campaign with four goals and four assists, featuring in every league game.

It was her second season where she really went to the next level though, as she fired Palace to the then-named Women's Championship trophy - scoring 11 goals and getting seven assists.

There were plenty of accolades too, as Blanchard won the Women's Championship Player of the Month and Goal of the Month award for September, and was also voted as Palace's Player of the Month for October.

Shining in the WSL

With promotion to the Women's Super League confirmed, Blanchard would then establish herself as a core part of Palace's team in their maiden topflight campaign.

She made history on the Sunday, 6th October 2024 - as she bagged a brace against Leicester City.

Not only did Blanchard score Palace's first goals in the WSL, she also helped the Eagles to their first-ever win in the topflight.

Her fine performances even prompted Palace legend Ian Wright to suggest her for a potential England call-up in October 2024.

A key piece of the puzzle

Blanchard has since taken her game to the next level under Manager Jo Potter.

Speaking after her goalscoring performance in Sunderland, Potter said: "I think she's so influential in the team and how we play. She's come on leaps and bounds this year."

At the time of writing, she has started every single league game this season - scoring five and assisting three.

Blanchard has forged a formidable trio with My Cato and Hayley Ladd in midfield, with the team winning nine of the 11 league games since Ladd's arrival in January.

With promotion just one win away, Blanchard has proved to be an essential part of Palace's success this season.

Blanchard reflects on her 100th Palace appearance

After the 2-1 win on Sunday, Blanchard reflected on reaching the 100 mark and what it meant to have her family and friends there at the Stadium of Light.

You can watch her full reaction on Palace TV, embedded above!

She said: "It's a privilege to play 100 times for this club, but to be honest all I was worried about today was winning the game.

"It's a huge achievement for me personally and what a club to do it at. Playing in front of these fans, playing here, it's very special.

"It's huge. Having the fans here, my friends, my family, I got a lot of gifts, a lot of signs made for me. You feel loved and it is a family club."

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