‘We will be prepared for them’ – Crystal Palace ready for Chelsea test says Kaminski | OneFootball

Crystal Palace head coach Laura Kaminski says that her side will be well-prepared for the challenge of Chelsea on Friday night.

The Eagles face The Blues under the lights at Selhurst Park. Crystal Palace will be looking to bounce back from their 4-0 opening day defeat to Tottenham Hotspur last weekend.

When speaking in the pre-match press conference, Crystal Palace boss Kaminski said that her side will be well-prepared to face the Barclays Women’s Super League champions.

“They are a great side in terms of the players that they have got,” Kaminski said. “It’s a new manager, so a change for them and it will bring differences to their squad and tactics no doubt. We have looked at them at length, so we know their threats and strengths.

“We will be prepared for them. We have an important week of training. I know the players will commit to the game plan, so we can put down a performance on the night to be proud of.”

It was a Barclays Women’s Super League debut to forget for Crystal Palace as they opened the season with a heavy 4-0 defeat at Spurs. Kaminski saw positives in the performance, particularly in the first half, and she is looking for her side to compete for the full 90 minutes this weekend.

She said “Yeah, a lot to learn. I said after the game that the first half performance was a lot stronger than the second. We need to work hard to make sure that’s sustainable for a longer period of time.

“The players are great students in terms of analysing their performances. There was some good stuff in there. The scoreline suggests otherwise but I was really proud of certain elements of the game. We need to make sure we’re tighter in terms of conceding goals and we need to make sure we turn our attacks into outcomes.”

Crystal Palace’s last appearance at Selhurst Park saw them lift the Barclays Women’s Championship trophy. While Kaminski looks back fondly on that moment, she insists that the team have to move on.

She said “We’ve got some great memories. We had friends and family there that day and enjoyed it thoroughly but we have to move on. Those memories become a little bit distant; they keep us together, the keep us remembering why we love the game and they’ll keep us motivated through tough times.

“We shared an unbelievable experience together at one of our homes, Selhurst, but now, we must look forward. Ultimately, we are here to work, we are here to perform and play. Every week, we want to be better, we want to take the game to Chelsea.”

Crystal Palace’s Barclays Women’s Super League fixture against Chelsea kicks-off at 7.30pm on Friday evening. Tickets remain on-sale and can be purchased by clicking here.