Crystal Palace held to another frustrating draw as points are shared with Sunderland

Crystal Palace were held to their fourth draw of the season after a tight 1-1 contest with Sunderland at the VBS Community Stadium this afternoon.

Both teams struck early in the first half. Sunderland opened the scoring in the ninth minute when Katy Watson finished off a swift counter-attack in the top corner.

Just three minutes later, Crystal Palace responded through Kirsty Howat, who equalised with a through ball from Emma Watson, beating Grace Moloney when one-on-one with the Sunderland goalkeeper.

The hosts dominated much of the first half, enjoying the majority of the possession and having more touches inside the opposition box. Frustratingly, The Eagles were unable to convert their chances into clear-cut opportunities. Abbie Larkin, one of Crystal Palace’s standout players, came close on multiple occasions but she couldn’t make the final breakthrough.

Both teams struggled to take advantage of the opportunities ahead of them in the second half, with the two defences issuing strong performances.

Ashleigh Weerden created an excellent opportunity after running beyond the Sunderland defence, but she was unable to connect with another Crystal Palace attacker in the box.

Substitute Keira Barry had an impact for the visitors after replacing Eleanor Dale. She curled a powerful effort on goal from outside of the box that just dipped over the bar.

In the end, neither side could make the breakthrough as the points were shared in Sutton.

This afternoon’s result means that Crystal Palace end the weekend in eighth position in the Barclays WSL2 table while Sunderland are fifth.