Araya Dennis impresses for Crystal Palace in win over Durham

Araya Dennis came off the bench and provided an assist as she played an important part in Crystal Palace’s 5-1 victory over Durham on Sunday afternoon in the FA Women’s Championship.

The England Under-19 international, who signed a professional contract with the Club in January and remained at Crystal Palace for the remainder of the season, was introduced in the 51^st minute with the score level but, despite being on the pitch for just seven minutes, Araya made an instant impact as she kept the ball alive in the final third with some lovely footwork before Lexi Potter played in Annabel Blanchard who fired home to put the visitors ahead.

She turned provider in the closing stages of the game as the 18-year-old shrugged off a defender before sliding the ball into Shanade Hopcroft and she coolly slotted past the goalkeeper to secure an impressive 5-1 victory.

A cool finish 🧊#CPFC | @cinchuk | #cinchit | @ShanadeHopcroft pic.twitter.com/bvSeqpPmT5

— Crystal Palace F.C. Women (@cpfc_w) April 1, 2024

The victory sees the Eagles close the gap on league leaders Sunderland in the Championship, sitting one point behind the Black Cats having played one less game.

Midfielder Ria Percival, who also joined the Eagles on loan for the remainder of the 2023/24 campaign, featured in the win over the Wildcats, playing 90 minutes at Maiden Castle.

Elsewhere, Lenna Gunning-Williams was a second-half substitute for Ipswich Town as they suffered a 1-0 defeat to Rugby Borough on Sunday afternoon in the FA Women’s National League Southern Premier Division.