Crystal Palace boss James Marrs hailed the remarkable improvement from Isabella Sibley after her match-winning goal saw the Eagles defeat London City Lionesses 1-0 at Princes Park.
What was always likely to be an extremely tight match to open up the season proved to be just that, and chances were few and far between in the opening 45 minutes.
That was until Atlanta Primus’ sensational long-range effort almost beat Fran Kitching in the Palace goal, striking the crossbar.
And the upright was hit again by Chloe Arthur for Palace 15 minutes into the second half before Sibley reacted quickest to tuck it home and earn a vital three points for the away side.
“To put in that level of performance being just six weeks old as a group is pleasing,” said Marrs.
“We’re still a work in progress, but we got a lot of things right today that we’ve been working on, so credit to the players for being able to put that across.
“Izzie (Isabella Sibley) came to us in January, and she had a real lack of confidence and belief in her own ability.
“We’ve done a lot of work with Izzie, and you saw the fruits of that today.
“She’s worked hard and spent the time to improve, so we’re absolutely delighted with her - she needs to believe in herself after today.”
London City Lionesses head coach Melissa Phillips was obviously disappointed to come away with nothing but made it clear that it was down to the barest of margins that decided the game.
She said: “It was a tough result not to come away with anything at home to start the league, but I can’t knock the girls for their effort or the intensity throughout the game.
“The top of the league is going to be separated by fine margins, and ultimately we saw that today.
“We hit off the crossbar, the post, and so did they – but they were able to convert their chance.
“We’re disappointed. The quality of opportunity was there, and it wasn’t just our day.
“Atlanta (Primus) and Lil (Agg) hit the post, Sarah (Ewens) was in behind one on one, so I think we can take a lot of pride on the things we built.
“There’s still so much room for growth, and it’s only match one – but we don’t want to be saying that every Sunday afternoon!”
