By OkayGoal
Crystal Palace forward Molly-Mae Sharpe says that the club are looking to make a statement in the Barclays Women’s Super League.
The Eagles return to the top tier following a one-season absence. Crystal Palace won seven of their final eight matches in Barclays WSL2 to seal promotion back to Tier 1 at the first attempt.
Crystal Palace had momentum in the promotion race in the final weeks of last season and forward Sharpe is hoping that this will carry the team well into the 2026/2027 campaign.
“The second half of the season was really good for us,” Sharpe said when speaking to WSL Full-Time. “I think keeping that core group of players is going to be massive and making some big additions has been important.
“I do think that the momentum will drive us. Getting a few good results in those first few games will also help.”
Crystal Palace struggled for wins in their one and only previous season in the Barclays Women’s Super League. Sharpe says that The Eagles are looking to make an impact in the league this time around and knows that a solid start will be important.
She said “We want as many points on the board as we can in the early days but a lot is also going to be about our performance. You’ve seen in the WSL where teams are pinned in and they get out with a 1-0 win or they end up drawing against the big teams. I think results like that are going to be important.
“We are looking to make a statement in this league, we are certainly not here to make up the numbers. We want to do well and we want to get as many points as we can on the board early on.”
Three clubs have been promoted to the Barclays Women’s Super League as a result of the division’s expansion from 12 to 14 teams. Sharpe believes that Crystal Palace’s recent top tier experience could make the difference.
She said “We are in the same boat as Birmingham and Charlton but I think we have a little bit of edge that we’ve been there and done that. We didn’t do it very well to stay up but I think now, we’ve got that experience. We know what it takes to stay in this league and it’s something that we are definitely going to try to do.
“Having Birmingham and Charlton coming up as well, those are the games where we want to get the points and that’ll help bump us up in the league.”
Crystal Palace kick-off the new Barclays Women’s Super League season with a home fixture against Everton on Sunday.
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