Facing Blackburn Rovers in the fourth round of the Adobe Women’s FA Cup on Sunday afternoon, a hard-fought, goalless first-half gave way to an expansive, entertaining second period.
The script proved truly dramatic: after defender Hayley Nolan was caught in possession, Blackburn broke quickly and bundled the ball home via Meg Hornby to take the lead.
It looked set to get worse for Palace when goalkeeper Demi Lambourne brought down Georgia Walters on 66 minutes.
Then, two remarkable redemptions: Lambourne produced an outstanding save with her trailing leg to, somehow, turn Hornby’s penalty over the bar, and ten minutes later, Nolan displayed a striker’s instinct to pop up from a set-piece and turn home an equaliser.
Further goals from Elise Hughes and Molly Sharpe sealed a 3-1 win and saw Palace through to the next round – but from Lambourne and Nolan, it was an outstanding show of character.
