Crystal Palace defeats Swindon Town 5-1 in friendly match
Match overview
Crystal Palace secured a 5-1 victory over Swindon Town in a friendly match. The game, held at the Crystal Palace Academy Training Ground in Beckenham, London, saw Matheus França score a hat-trick for Palace after coming on as a substitute in the second half. The academy ground, primarily a training centre for the club’s young players, does not have stands for fans.
The match featured a dynamic performance from Palace, particularly in the second half, which ultimately led to their decisive win. The first half saw Eddie Nketiah score two goals for Crystal Palace, while Fletcher Holman netted one for Swindon Town.
First half action
The game began with Crystal Palace asserting early pressure. Eddie Nketiah opened the scoring for Palace from a corner, with the ball falling to him after a save by Connor Ripley. Nketiah then extended Palace’s lead to 2-0 by scoring another goal from inside the area.
Swindon Town managed to respond, with Fletcher Holman scoring to reduce the deficit. Earlier in the half, Swindon had a penalty opportunity after David Ozoh fouled Paul Glatzel in the box. However, Aaron Drinan‘s penalty was saved by Palace goalkeeper Benitez, and Matt Virtue‘s rebound shot went wide.
Crystal Palace‘s starting lineup for the friendly included Benitez, King, Walker-Smith, Adaramola, Mingueza, Hughes, Ozoh, Mitchell, Esse, Rak-Sakyi, and Nketiah. Swindon Town‘s starting eleven featured Ripley, Negru, McGregor, a trialist, Glatzel, Virtue-Thick, Kilkenny, Clark, Clarke, Drinan, and Holman.
Second half developments
The second half saw significant changes for Crystal Palace, who introduced a new lineup. This included Matthews, Jemide, Canvot, Benamar, Cardines, Devenny, Doucouré, Borna Sosa, Drakes-Thomas, Matheus França, and Brennan Johnson. Despite these changes, Swindon Town initially created an early chance with Clarke finding Glatzel, whose shot went wide.
Matheus França, entering the game in the second half, quickly made an impact. He scored his first goal by invading the area and hitting the ball past the goalkeeper, restoring a two-goal difference for Palace. Later, Joel Drakes-Thomas was fouled in the box, leading to a penalty for Palace. França converted the penalty, scoring his second goal of the match. His third goal came from a counter-attack, where he received a pass and struck the ball into the left corner.
Swindon Town also made extensive changes during the second half, with almost the entire team being replaced, except for goalkeeper Ripley. Players such as Glatzel, Clark, Negru, Drinan, Holman, Clarke, Kilkenny, Virtue, and McGregor were substituted. The replacements included Debayo, Ball, Millard, Kirkman, Middlemas, Nichols, and Mabete, along with three trialists.
Squad changes and transfers
For Crystal Palace, the transfer window has seen Evann Guessand depart. Arrivals include Mingueza from Celta, as well as Romain Esse, Owen Goodman, Matheus França, and Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, all returning from loan spells. The bench for Palace included players such as Joe Whitworth, Remi Matthews, Daniel Imray, Jaydee Canvot, Mofe Jemide, Dean Benamar, Borna Sosa, Joel Drake-Thomas, Justin Devenny, Cheick Doucouré, Brennan Johnson, and Rio Cardines.
Swindon Town‘s transfer activity has seen Ryan Delaney, Thomas Wilson-Brown, Redman Evans, and Darren Oldaker leave. New additions to the club are James Debayo, Matty Virtue, Stephan Negru, and Mitch Clark. Swindon’s bench for the match against Palace consisted of Lewis Ward and Lucas Griffiths-Brown.
The match concluded with a 5-1 scoreline in favour of Crystal Palace.
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Source: bbc.co.uk
As News GB's Senior Football Correspondent, Lewis Hartnell reports on the Premier League, the EFL and the England national side for readers across the country. He reported on south-coast football for a regional title. He holds a degree in Sports Journalism from Solent University and completed an NCTJ diploma. Lewis lives in Southampton, where he watches youth football and follows the transfer market. “The week's training ground decides the weekend's headlines.”
