Four games, four wins – two at home, and two on the road. Nine goals scored, to five conceded. Vital points collected across the Premier League, Women’s Super League 2, Premier League 2 and U18 Premier League South league tables.
Not a bad weekend’s work, all in all.
It’s been some 22 months since we were last able to report a flawless Crystal Palace weekend – with wins for our Men’s, Women’s, Under-21s and Under-18s – but that proved the case for us over the last three days, as Palace were able to savour that winning feeling on all four fronts.
Here’s the full story of a flawless weekend for the club…
It all got started at an overcast Copers Cope on Saturday morning, as Palace Under-18s – whose free-scoring form has already powered them to some spectacular results this season – ground out a harder-fought, but just as professional, 2-0 win over Reading.
Palace settled into possession well early on and their patience was rewarded in the seventh minute. A long, searching pass from Charlie Walker-Smith forced a defensive error – a misjudged header followed by a wayward backpass – which presented Stuart Oduro with a golden opportunity.
Alert and lively, Oduro used his pace to get in behind the defence, showed great composure, and stretched to prod the ball home – giving the young Eagles a deserved lead with his fifth goal of the 2025/26 campaign.
The game to-and-fro’d there-on, but just after the hour mark, Palace doubled their lead – and no surprise it was lead scorer Benji Casey who rose highest from Jasper Judd’s corner kick, making no mistake with his planted header.
The 2-0 win saw Palace remain second in the U18 Premier League South table on 12 points after five matches.
Moving swiftly from South to East London, Oliver Glasner’s Palace side were looking to win a second London derby of the week, having seen off Millwall four days prior, as well as keep their long unbeaten run going.
The first-half at London Stadium was a cagey affair of few chances, with set-pieces proving the clearest avenue to goal for both sides inside the opening half-an-hour.
But as the half wore on, so too did Palace’s domination grow – and West Ham United’s recent fragility from corners came to the fore as Marc Guéhi rose highest to head the ball goalwards, Alphonse Areola saved, and Jean-Philippe Mateta reacted instinctively to head home his 50th goal for the club, and Palace’s 700th in the Premier League.
After Maxence Lacroix hit West Ham’s crossbar shortly after the restart – again from a corner – it was ironically from such a set-piece that the hosts equalised, as Jarrod Bowen peeled away to the near post and glanced in a simple header.
But with 68 minutes on the clock, a moment fit to win any match: Adam Wharton’s looped cross was challenged for by Daichi Kamada, and the ball dropped out of the sky to Tyrick Mitchell, who produced an Exocet missile of a volley with his right foot, crashing the ball high beyond Areola for his first goal since May 2024.
Seven additional minutes gave West Ham cause to apply further pressure – but in truth Palace’s goalmouth was seldom threatened in that time, as Mateta and Mitchell’s goals proved enough to secure back-to-back wins at London Stadium for the first time in a decade.
Following last week's eight-goal thriller against Southampton, Jo Potter’s impressive Eagles earned their first win of the 2025/26 season with a 2-1 victory over Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.
Palace started strongly and were rewarded in the 18th minute, when Belgium international Justine Vanhaevermaet put Palace 1-0 up with a delightful looping volley from the back post area.
Just 14 minutes later and Palace had their second, this time through Kirsty Howat; it all started from Ashleigh Weerden driving at the Forest defence and then shooting, with her effort looking set to spin out for a corner. Howat had other ideas however, and made a determined run to the back post to squeeze the ball past Emily Batty.
Elise Hughes, making her first competitive start since her long-term injury was sustained in April 2024, hit the woodwork as Palace sought to make it three.
Forest did manage to make it a tense finish by pulling one back in the third minute of added time, after Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah scored with a fierce effort from range.
But Palace held on to claim a fully-deserved three points at the City Ground, and continue the Eagles’ perfect weekend.
It wouldn’t be Palace if we didn’t add some late drama to your weekend, now would it?
Over in Sutton on a dark Monday evening, Luke Browne’s towering 92nd-minute header sealed a dramatic 3-2 victory for Crystal Palace Under-21s against Leeds United, as the young Eagles maintained their unbeaten start to the Premier League 2 season.
Kaden Rodney had opened the scoring for Palace early on, marking his return to the side with a half-volley from close range, before Romain Esse doubled our lead with a well-taken low drive.
But Leeds fought back as Harvey Vincent fortuitously reduced the deficit just before the break, and Jacob Render struck on the rebound to seemingly earn Leeds a point with seven minutes remaining.
That was, of course, until Browne’s late heroics – a commanding header from an injury-time corner – secured all three points for Palace, and allowed us to celebrate a remarkable three days’ results across the entirety of the Football Club.
Eagles!
