Cushing hails City as farewell beckons
This was Manchester City’s taste of their new normal: playing beneath the shadow of not only the hulking Asda superstore half a mile away, but also manager Nick Cushing’s imminent departure to New York City.
In the interim, as the sand in Cushing’s Manchester hourglass dwindles and his foray to the MLS begins after his final match against Arsenal on Feb 2, City will endeavour to go about their on-field business as though nothing has happened.
“I don’t think any time would ever be right for me to go,” said Cushing, who has led City to six domestic trophies since the reformation of the women’s team in 2013.
“Whether it was in season or out of season, I’d always be potentially heartbroken from leaving this team because it’s been such a huge part of my life.
“Today, people might have thought there might have been a little hangover, a bit of emotion. That group have shown how professional they are.”
City are in a three-way fight for the league title with eight WSL games remaining, and are still in both domestic cup competitions.
As Cushing said, this was business as usual, their ninth successive Super League home victory, a club record. This time it was Everton on the end of Pauline Bremer’s prolific finishing, her goals extending a run of nine in her last seven league games.
City were out of sight by 65 minutes, Gemma Bonner skidding in at the back post from Caroline Weir’s free-kick their third.
Everton could have had the opener after just 15 seconds, when Hannah Cain’s shot was palmed on to the underside of the crossbar by City goalkeeper Ellie Roebuck. Beyond that, Everton struggled.
Bremer, stumbling slightly, had connected with Weir’s cross to poke home at the far post on 18 minutes after a period when City’s younger players – Roebuck, Lauren Hemp, Georgia Stanway and Keira Walsh – proved the extent of Cushing’s impact on the club.
The only criticism you could level at City was over their uncharacteristic miscues in the Everton box: it was easy to wonder, as the first half wore on, whether they would come to regret passing up so many chances Weir blasted over from an open goal before Stanway went past Gabrielle George, but nudged tamely in the direction of goalkeeper Tinja Korpela.
When Bremer made it two, opening up after being granted all the time in the world by the Everton back line, it was little more than City’s dominance had deserved.
Everton salvaged a consolation goal in the final minute of normal time when Stanway diverted a corner into her own goal, but City were otherwise in control.