No joy for McCabe as City sneak into Cup final

THERE was disappointment for Ireland captain Katie McCabe as her Arsenal team lost out to Manchester City 2-1 in last night’s Women’s FA Cup final. City quickly hit their stride in the opening exchanges, with summer signing Sam Mewis controlling the midfield and pegging Arsenal into their own half. Captain Steph Houghton scored the goal City’s dominance deserved in the 19th minute when she curled a free-kick over the wall and into the lefthand corner, after Leah Williamson fouled Caroline Weir just outside the box. Arsenal clawed themselves level after a glorious shot from Jordan Nobbs on the edge of the D looped powerfully over Ellie Roebuck seven minutes before the break. City wasted no time restoring their lead. Chloe Kelly’s cross from the right found White, who managed to scramble the ball back for USA international Mewis to rifle home unmarked in the box just two minutes later. City picked up the second half where they left off, dominating the ball and pressing with purpose. They could not find their third goal though and Arsenal rallied, creating chances of their own. Nobbs picked out Caitlin Foord in the box with 15 minutes remaining but her header was not powerful enough to trouble Roebuck. Vivianne Miedema sparked into life on 82 minutes, driving into the penalty box, but Demi Stokes got down well to steal the ball away. Arsenal continued to probe but City held on to make sure of a place at Wembley against Everton. Speaking at the final whistle, Arsenal manager Joe Montemurro admitted the Gunners had been outclassed for large swathes of the game. ‘They dominated the first 60 minutes, they were better than us,’ the Arsenal boss said.