Four wins, zero draws and three defeats represent a mixed start to the 2022/23 FA Women's Championship season for Crystal Palace Women.
The most recent Durham victory over the weekend did keep the Eagles up to pace with high-flyers Bristol City, London City Lionesses and Southampton FC. But the race for promotion at the early stage of the season is shaping up to be a four-five-team race for that elusive one promotion spot.
Palace themselves, at the start of the new season, had made it known to their new signings that WSL promotion was the aim. That's exactly why Jamaican international Paige Bailey-Gayle made the switch from the top-flight Leicester City over the summer, not only for increased game time minutes but also for the project pitched her way.
"Whenever I played against Palace, I faced a good side that was hard to break down and was able to finish high in the table. So when I left my last club, Leicester City, I got in touch with Dean Davenport, and everything I heard made Palace sound like the perfect fit," the 20-year-old opened up to in-house club media.
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"After spending seven years in Arsenal's Centre of Excellence, I signed my first professional contract with Leicester aged 17 in the Women's Championship. With Aimee Everett and Annabel Johnson in the team, we got promoted to the Super League in 2020/21, and after a season in the top flight, I felt I wanted to step back into the Championship to get more minutes under my belt.
"Promotion is hard to navigate because you're playing against world-class players, but the experience teaches you what you need to thrive at that level. At Palace, we want to get promoted this season, and a lot of the girls have WSL experience."
She then added "This squad has a fresh vision of what we want to do, and everyone's bought into it because they've joined with the same goal. We're all pulling in the same direction and get on well as a group.
"Promotion is, of course, an ambition, but we're focused on the next match rather than the end goal. We take each week as it comes and prepare for every game so we can get the results required for what we want to achieve. It's not all about promotion. It's about getting three points every time we step out."
Bailey-Gayle, who represented the Lionesses at youth level before switching allegiance to Jamaica, qualified with her national team for the FIFA Women's World Cup. The tournament is set to be played across Australia and New Zealand.
Placed in Group F alongside Brazil and France, Jamaica have a steep task ahead of them if they are to pull off a shock at next year's tournament down under. To do that, the domestic form of each player, including the aforementioned forward, heading into the tournament will be vital if the side that finished in third place at the most recent CONCACAF Women's Championships are to cause a huge upset.
She explained: "Internationally, I represented England at youth levels until 2021, which I switched to Jamaica. That's a massive honour for me and my family and it required a lot of thought before changing, but I feel it was the right decision.
"We recently qualified for the Women's World Cup, which is another massive honour. I never thought I'd become a full international, and now I am it's the greatest feeling in the world. International football is a different calibre, and we play with and against players from all over the world, be that CONCACAF opposition or teammates playing in Spain, France, Hungary, Sweden and the US.
"We all learn different styles from all over the globe. Now, I'm determined to stay fit and secure my place to compete in Australia 2023."
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