Everton make point against Palace but WSL relegation battle leaves no room for error
WSL roundup: Hayashi rescues struggling EvertonWest Ham claim first win of the season against Leicester
When Crystal Palace midfielder My Cato found herself with the ball to the left, inside a minute at the VBS Community Stadium, the Everton defence followed, three of the back four shifting across and then looking back over their shoulders in horror as an unmarked Indiah-Paige Riley collected the pass from Cato in the middle before slotting home.
If there was a moment to symbolise Everton’s woes this season, this was it, their defensive structure collapsing in an instant against Palace before the game had really begun. It was the fifth time in seven WSL games that the injury-hit Toffees had conceded inside 15 minutes, four of those coming inside eight minutes. Against a Chelsea or a Manchester United, that can be forgiven to some extent, but that the other three early concessions have come against fellow relegation battlers Leicester, West Ham and now Palace, cannot.
