Albion more than held their own in a 4-2 victory on penalties with scores level at 0-0 after 90 minutes, and Powell believes the performance was on a par with the Chelsea game as their finest of the season to date.
She said, “It was a good performance and the game plan worked. Everybody worked hard and it was very pleasing to see that the players believed in themselves, and grew in confidence as the game progressed.
“They created a number of chances, and everybody played their part today, from the starters to the finishers. It shows what they can do, and now it’s just about taking this performance into the league.
“This and Chelsea are our two best performances of the season. Here we created more chances and the fact that we won the game on penalties is very pleasing. They’ve got some world-class players in their side, and the fact they brought on three of their main strikers to try and win the game is a big compliment.”
The Albion manager explained how all the players were eager to atone for the 4-0 defeat away at Arsenal in September’s FA Women’s Super League match, and hailed a tremendous overall team effort in Crawley today.
“We had a good discussion around that result, and the players know they didn’t perform. It was just a bad day at the office and they righted those wrongs. We’ve got to make sure we continue that momentum against Birmingham at the Amex in two weeks’ time.
“Maya [Le Tissier] was fantastic, Danique [Kerkdijk had a good game too, and that partnership worked really well. I thought Ellie [Brazil] ran her legs off, and Kirsty [Barton] came in and played her part after not having many minutes.
“It would be hard for me to single out any player, because I think everybody played their part and we have to recognise that.”
Powell spoke about her message to the squad as they headed into the penalty shootout, and says their character was key in getting over the line.
“Sophie [Harris] pulled off a fantastic save in the shootout, and we get two points from the game instead of one, which is great.
“It’s a real confidence boost and we knew it was never going to be the same game compared to when we played them at Borehamwood. They wouldn’t let that happen, and proved themselves.”