MatchProgramme notes: Matt Beard on Crystal Palace and European memories

The Reds return to Barclays Women’s Super League action in a 2pm BST kick-off at St Helens Stadium.

Beard’s squad meet last season’s Championship winners with the aim of returning a victory in their final outing before the next international break.

In the programme, Beard writes: “Today’s challenge is against Crystal Palace who, of course, were promoted as champions of the FA Women’s Championship last season.

“Palace have signed some really, really good players. Obviously we know Katie Stengel very well and it’s going to be great to have her back so that we can see her and the fans can see her again, but obviously we won’t be wishing her luck for the game!

“I think if you look at their fixtures so far this season, it’s been interesting because they’ve played two different systems, so we’ll have to plan for both. It looks like they maybe have one system for one group of teams and another for another, so we will see.

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“They have signed experienced players who are used to the WSL and with international experience to add to an already good team. No-one expected Crystal Palace to come up last year. I saw them a few times last season and some of the football that they played was very good to watch.

“They’ve come up and have been brave because they are doing the same thing, so it’s going to be a tough afternoon for us, and it won’t be easy by any stretch of the imagination.

“Annabel Blanchard is a player who was in our youth system when I was first manager here. She’d gone to Blackburn by the time I came back but she’s developed into a very good player, which is pleasing to see. She got a couple of goals against Leicester the other week and came close to getting a late equaliser against Brighton last Sunday too and she’s one of many threats Palace have in their team.

“They play some good stuff and they’re very organised out of possession, so it’s going to be tricky. The fact is there are no easy games in this division and all 12 teams have their strengths.

“It’s likely that we will have more of the ball in this game than we did against Manchester City last week but, as I say, we need to make sure that the use of the ball is much better if we are to get the result we want.”

Marking a memorable anniversary for the club, Beard adds: “This past week was the 10th anniversary of our first games in the UEFA Women’s Champions League and it brought back some happy memories.

“The away tie in Linköping was probably a game too far for us as we’d just had a busy end to the season.

“I remember Gemma Davison scoring in the 90th minute at Arsenal to get us a 3-3 draw and that goal probably won us the WSL title again. We were 2-0 down early on and I took Martha Harris off after about 25 minutes because I’d got the system wrong to start off with, but then we got back into the game. I remember that day very well!

“After that we won 2-1 against Linköping and then 3-0 against Bristol Academy. Retaining the title was unexpected but fantastic!

“We lost 3-0 in the second leg in Sweden and, as I say, I think it was a game too many in the legs and with the travel too. After that the players let their hair down because it had been a mad couple of weeks.

“If you look back, that Linköping team was a really good young side. They had Fridolina Rolfo, who is now at Barcelona, Pernille Harder, Claudia Neto and their coach, Martin Sjogren, went on to manage Norway too. They were excellent in the second leg in Sweden.

“It’s amazing to see how far the game’s come on since, and the way the game’s evolved over those 10 years is frightening, especially when you look at the new format in the Women’s Champions League and the Europa League starting next season too.

“Hopefully we can get back to playing in Europe again at some point on our journey, but they were very good memories.”

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