United keep eye on Stoney

MANCHESTER UNITED rightfully got it in the neck for the way their social media accounts ignored the historic first match of their women’s team, a 1-0 win over Liverpool in the Continental Tyres Cup. Neither their official Twitter account, with its 18.3 million followers, or Facebook, which has a staggering 70 million followers, made any mention of that particular slice of history, preferring to focus on the men’s team’s defeat in Brighton on the same day.

The club is clearly doing its utmost to avoid any repeat of the faux pas. When Casey Stoney MBE (above), the women’s team manager, sat down with Irish journalists after the Women’s 20x20 conference at Google’s Dublin HQ last Monday, there was a United press officer by her side and recording everything she said to ensure that the 130 times capped former England player remains on message.