Crystal Palace secured a 5-1 victory over Swindon Town in a recent friendly match. The game, which took place at the Crystal Palace Academy Training Ground in Beckenham, London, saw a hat-trick from Matheus França in the second half, complementing two goals scored by Eddie Nketiah in the first half.
The friendly fixture was part of the 2025-26 pre-season schedule. The match was played without a public audience, as the venue primarily serves as a training centre for the club’s youth teams.
First Half Action
The first half saw Crystal Palace establish an early lead. Eddie Nketiah opened the scoring for Palace after a corner kick led to a scramble in the box. His initial shot was saved by Connor Ripley, but Nketiah converted the rebound.
Nketiah then extended Palace’s lead, scoring his second goal after receiving a pass inside the penalty area. Swindon Town, however, managed to reduce the deficit when Fletcher Holman scored, finding the back of the net after receiving a pass and invading the area.
During the first half, Swindon Town had opportunities to score further, including a free kick taken by Fletcher Holman that went over the goal. Palace goalkeeper Benitez also saved a penalty taken by Aaron Drinan after David Ozoh fouled Paul Glatzel in the box.
Second Half Dominance
The second half saw significant changes to the Crystal Palace lineup, with players such as Matthews, Jemide, Canvot, Benamar, Cardines, Devenny, Doucouré, Borna Sosa, Drakes-Thomas, Matheus França, and Brennan Johnson entering the game. Despite these changes, Matheus França quickly made an impact, scoring his first goal of the match after being released on a counter-attack.
França then converted a penalty after Joel Drakes-Thomas was brought down by Connor Ripley, marking Palace’s fourth goal. He completed his hat-trick with a shot into the left corner following another counter-attack, extending Palace’s lead further.
Swindon Town also made several changes throughout the second half, with almost the entire team being substituted, except for goalkeeper Ripley. Players like James Debayo, Ball, Millard, Kirkman, Middlemas, Tom Nichols, and Mabete were introduced. Tom Nichols had a header go wide, missing a chance to score for Swindon.
Team Lineups and Transfers
For Crystal Palace, the starting lineup included Benitez, King, Walker-Smith, Adaramola, Mingueza, Hughes, Ozoh, Mitchell, Esse, Rak-Sakyi, and Nketiah. The bench featured 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, Rio Cardines, and Matheus França.
Swindon Town‘s starting eleven comprised Ripley, Negru, McGregor, Trialist, Glatzel, Virtue-Thick, Kilkenny, Clark, Clarke, Drinan, and Holman. Their bench included Lewis Ward and Lucas Griffiths-Brown.
In terms of transfers, Crystal Palace saw Evann Guessand depart, while Mingueza, Romain Esse, Owen Goodman, Matheus França, and Jesurun Rak-Sakyi returned from loan spells. Swindon Town had Ryan Delaney, Thomas Wilson-Brown, Redman Evans, and Darren Oldaker leave, with James Debayo, Matty Virtue, Stephan Negru, and Mitch Clark joining the club.
The match concluded with Crystal Palace securing a 5-1 victory over Swindon Town.
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Source: bbc.co.uk
As NewsGB's Senior Football Correspondent, Jack Ferndale reports on the Premier League, the EFL and the England national side for readers across the country. He covered north-east football for a regional daily. He holds a degree in Sports Journalism from the University of Sunderland and completed an NCTJ diploma. Jack lives in Sunderland, where he watches lower-league football home and away. “The story is in the squad, not just the starting eleven.”
