The video will start in 8 Cancel

Two-goal Gemma Bryan helped struggling Crystal Palace to ease their problems near the bottom of FA Women's Championship with a gripping win over Leicester City.

Bryan, who caused the home side problems throughout the afternoon, slid a simple effort into an empty net to decide a rollercoaster match in the 84th minute.

The victory saw the South Londoners climb one place to ninth in the second tier table.

Key moments

Palace enjoyed slightly the better of an uneventful first half with Fran Ali’s lung bursting run down the middle in the sixth minute coming very close to giving them the lead.

Goalkeeper Demi Lambourne blocked her shot and defender Holly Morgan cleared from near the line.

Powerful striker Gemma Bryan twice went close to surprising Lambourne with fierce long range efforts whilst City’s clearest chance came in added time when Libby Smith blazed over.

The game came to life after Palace striker Nikita Whinnett nipped in at the far post to steer her shot into the net via a post to give the visitors a 58th-minute lead.

City’s response in making a triple substitution made a huge difference but first they fell further behind after a double defensive howler let in Bryan for a simple second.

Freda Ayisi’s astute pass gave Hayley James time to steer her shot into the net in the 68th minute and silky skills from fellow substitute Sophie Domingo led to a 75th-minute leveller.

Leigh Dugmore took the chance with relish at the far post after Domingo had controlled the ball and run at the Palace defence.

But the final say would go to Palace, whose third league victory of the season was earned in dramatic fashion.

Sluggish defending allowed Bryan to steer in her shot unchallenged from the edge of the box win it, sparking euphoria in the visiting ranks.

What they said

Palace skipper Freya Holdaway said of the last-gasp win: “We knew they were a good side having played them at home and that they have good players.

“I thought we had a few more chances although Leicester were a threat in the first half, then we got ourselves in front.

“They brought on three experienced forward players and we knew it would be hard.

“It’s great for Gemma, who has rejoined us from Charlton in the January transfer window.

“She lives and breathes Crystal Palace and it was good to see her get for goals.

“We didn’t expect to be pulled back from 2-0 to 2-2 but it’s a great three points for us.”

Keep up to date with the latest news, features and exclusives from football.london via the free football.london app for iPhone and Android .

Available to download from the App Store and Google Play .