Match Overview
Crystal Palace defeated Swindon Town by a score of 5-1 in a recent friendly match. The game, held at the Crystal Palace Academy Training Ground in Beckenham, London, saw Matheus França score a hat-trick for Palace, contributing significantly to their win.
The match was part of the 2025-26 pre-season friendly schedule in European football. The venue, primarily a training centre for the club’s youth teams, does not have stands for spectators.
First Half Action
The first half of the match saw Crystal Palace establish an early lead. Eddie Nketiah opened the scoring for Palace after a corner, with his initial shot saved by Connor Ripley before he converted the rebound. Nketiah then extended Palace’s lead, making it 2-0 by hitting a shot hard into the goal.
Swindon Town responded with increased pressure, and Fletcher Holman scored for the visitors, reducing the deficit. Earlier in the half, Paul Glatzel had opportunities, including a header that went wide and another shot from the small area that also missed the target. Aaron Drinan also had a penalty saved by Palace’s goalkeeper, Benitez, after David Ozoh fouled Glatzel inside the box.
Palace’s starting lineup for the first half included Benitez in goal, with King, Walker-Smith, and Adaramola in defence. The midfield featured Mingueza, Hughes, Ozoh, and Mitchell, while Esse, Rak-Sakyi, and Nketiah led the attack. Swindon Town began with Ripley, Negru, McGregor, and a Trialist in defence, Glatzel, Virtue-Thick, Kilkenny, and Clark in midfield, and Clarke, Drinan, and Holman upfront.
Second Half Dominance
The second half saw a refreshed Crystal Palace lineup, with Matthews, Jemide, Canvot, and Benamar in defence. Cardines, Devenny, Doucouré, and Borna Sosa were in midfield, and Drakes-Thomas, Matheus França, and Brennan Johnson formed the attacking trio. Despite the changes, Swindon initially created an early chance with Clarke finding Glatzel, whose shot went wide.
Matheus França then took control of the game for Palace. He scored his first goal by being released on a counterattack, invading the area, and hitting the ball past the goalkeeper. França added his second from the penalty spot after Joel Drakes-Thomas was brought down by Connor Ripley. His third goal came from a counterattack, where he received a pass and struck the ball into the left corner.
Swindon Town made extensive changes in the second half, with almost the entire team being replaced, except for goalkeeper Ripley. Players such as Glatzel, Clark, Negru, Drinan, Holman, Clarke, Kilkenny, Virtue, Trialist, and McGregor were substituted. Their replacements included Trialist, Debayo, Ball, Trialist, Millard, Kirkman, Middlemas, Nichols, Trialist, and Mabete. Tom Nichols had a late chance to reduce the deficit for Swindon but headed the ball over the goal.
Squad Changes and Transfers
Both clubs have seen some activity in the transfer window. Crystal Palace’s transfer window has been relatively quiet, with Evann Guessand being the sole departure. Arrivals for Palace include Mingueza from Celta, along with Romain Esse, Owen Goodman, Matheus França, and Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, all of whom returned from loan spells.
Swindon Town also experienced changes, with Ryan Delaney, Thomas Wilson-Brown, Redman Evans, and Darren Oldaker departing the club. New additions to their squad include James Debayo, Matty Virtue, Stephan Negru, and Mitch Clark. For the friendly match, Swindon’s bench was limited to Lewis Ward and Lucas Griffiths-Brown, while Palace’s bench featured a larger contingent of players, including 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.
The match concluded with Crystal Palace’s 5-1 victory over Swindon Town on July 18, 2026.
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Source: bbc.co.uk
