Potter: It was a massive performance
Crystal Palace Women's Manager Jo Potter was brimming with pride after her side secured a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Leicester City, sealing their place in the quarter-finals of the Subway Women's League Cup.
Speaking to Palace TV after the game, she said: "I'm extremely proud of the players, you know, I think we showed everything that we've been working towards over the past few weeks.
"I always know they're going to create goal-scoring chances; it was whether we could keep a clean sheet, which we've been working towards.”
The manager noted that the level of performance was a testament to the squad’s quality and commitment.
“The levels that the girls got through today just showed our quality and our class, and the challenge for us now is to keep producing that.
"We've managed to get through in a really difficult competition with some really quality teams in our group, so we're really proud of that.
"For me, the girls dug in and showed everything that we were about today, in possession and out of possession.
"It was a massive performance to go down to ten players and then play an extra 12 minutes of extra time.
"So, extremely proud of the group today, every single one of them. They stood up and were accounted for and we're well-deserved winners in my opinion,” she said.
We always knew it was going to take time, but the players are starting to see it and show their quality.
—Jo Potter
Following a difficult start to the campaign, the victory means the Eagles now have two successive wins under their belts, a factor that Potter believes will dramatically boost morale.
She said: “It shows our progression and where we're going to, what we're trying to build. It's never easy to change a way of playing, and change a style and a culture.
"We always knew it was going to take time, but the players are starting to see it and show their quality.
"They're getting stronger each week, I think probably fans can see that. We can see it's coming, it was always there or thereabouts.”
Despite the emphatic performance, Potter is keen for these standards to become the norm.
She said: “Today's performance showed what we see regularly during the week in training, and we want to see more of that.
"We want to see more clean sheets, more quality goals, goal-scoring opportunities, bodies on the line to protect that goal."
Finally, the manager reserved special praise for goalkeeper Eve Annets, who secured the first clean sheet of the season in her third appearance for the club.
Speaking on Annet's performance, Potter said: “Outstanding. Each player was brilliant today. I need more than one hand to name the amount of outstanding performances, but she stood up when we needed it.
"She was called upon, she made a save. It was important for her to come in and do that. First clean sheet for us is always huge and I'm glad she's managed to do it today, and it puts us into the next round of this competition."
Palace are ball number 4 in the Subway Women's League Cup Quarter-Final draw, and are the only team from the WSL2 that remain in the competition.
The draw will be broadcast live on the Barclays Women’s Super League TikTok account tomorrow (Tuesday, 25th November) from 18:00 GMT.
Mark your calendars! Palace Women's final home league fixture of 2025 is on Sunday, 7th December, against Birmingham City in our newly announced Festive Fixture!
Tickets are now available for this game, you can get yours by clicking the button below!