United’s joy at first Cup win
LIFELONG Manchester United fan Ella Toone scored a wondergoal as the Reds beat Tottenham Hotspur to win the Women’s FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium.
Toone, who has been at the club since the reformation of its women’s team in 2018, rifled home from 20 yards in firsthalf stoppage-time to set United on the way to their first major women’s trophy.
A smart header from veteran striker Rachel Williams shortly after the restart gave Marc Skinner’s side some breathing space before a brace from Spain international Lucia Garcia made sure of the victory.
It has been a challenging season for United, who narrowly lost out to Chelsea in both the Women’s Super League (WSL) title race and the FA Cup final last term. The Reds are currently 17 points adrift of league leaders Manchester City and are out of the running to qualify for Europe, leading to plenty of speculation over whether manager Skinner will stay in post after his current contract expires this summer.
However, after United became the first team outside of the WSL’s ‘Big Three’ – Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal – to lift the FA Cup trophy since 2012, he will certainly feel he is worthy of a new deal. It was a cagey first half at Wembley, with United spurning a host of great chances to take the lead.
The Reds almost got off to the perfect start when Leah Galton latched onto Toone’s perfectly weighted through ball but the forward’s shot was smothered by the onrushing Rebecca Spencer before Williams nodded over the bar from the resulting corner.
Encouraged by United’s profligacy, Spurs offered a glimpse of their own attacking prowess as full-back Ashleigh Neville teed up the lively Matilda Vinberg at the back post but the Swede couldn’t manage to hit the target.
The chances, though, kept on coming for Skinner’s side, with only a timely intervention from Eveliina Summanen preventing Garcia from making clean contact with her head from just a few yards out.
And it was a former United player, Martha Thomas, who prevented the Reds from breaking the deadlock when Millie Turner’s header looked destined to ripple the back of the net. The Scotland
international, who came on as a late substitute for United in last year’s final, made a heroic block on the line to keep her old teammate out.
But there was nothing anyone could do when Toone let fly from 20 yards out, the England international wheeling away in celebration as Skinner celebrated wildly on the touchline.
Williams then diverted Katie Zelem’s superb corner delivery into the back of the net in the 54th minute before Garcia pounced on a loose pass from Spurs goalkeeper Spencer to put United firmly in the driving seat.
The Spaniard made it four with an excellent finish 16 minutes from time to further prove the Reds’ dominance, while shot-stopper Mary Earps was largely a spectator for much of the second half. Despite the magnitude of the occasion, United part-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe was not in attendance at Wembley, instead opting to visit Old Trafford to watch Erik ten Hag’s side take on Arsenal in the Premier League.