Manchester United have reached the Women’s FA Cup Final for the first time in the club’s history after Rachel Williams’ late strike helped clinch victory over Brighton.
It was the visitors who opened the scoring at Leigh Sports Village, with Mary Earps spilling Veatriki Sarri's cross into her own net after 36 minutes. United restored parity through Leah Galton’s smart finish shortly after the break before Alessia Russo looked to have won it with a superb strike into the top corner.
But Brighton - who looked like a side transformed under new manager Melissa Phillips - got their reward for a spirited display when Danielle Carter coolly slotted the ball home to level the scoring. United’s strength-in-depth prevailed, though, when substitute Williams found the back of the net to fire the Reds through to a first major Final. Here are five talking points from Leigh Sports Village.
A new dawn for Manchester United
Five years ago, Manchester United didn’t even have a women’s team. Now, they’re heading to Wembley and are on the precipice of greatness.
“It means a massive amount,” manager Marc Skinner said after the game. “Our fans deserve it because their voice in the second half was insane.
“For me I’ve been there before [with Birmingham City] and we lost that game so I know how that feels so I’m driven to make sure we don’t repeat that. But I’m at a different club with a group of players who are really hungry and ambitious for success.”
There will be plenty of hurdles for United to overcome if they are to add one of the most coveted prizes in the women’s game to their trophy cabinet, with either Chelsea or Aston Villa to come in the Final. However, making it to Wembley is a real statement of intent from a club who once described their women’s side as not part of their "core business." United have worked hard to earn a seat at English football’s top table and, if this season is anything to go by, they look like they are here to stay.
Seagulls on the rise
It’s been something of a hellish campaign for Brighton, who are onto their third permanent manager in the space of six months.
The arrival of new head coach Melissa Phillips from NWSL side Angel City however, has given the Seagulls - who are currently rock bottom of the Women’s Super League table - a cause for renewed optimism.
Brighton pushed United all the way, with explosive young England winger Katie Robinson posing all sorts of problems for the United defence before some excellent work from Veatriki Sarri down the left flank forced Mary Earps into an uncharacteristic error for the opener.
Rachel William’s last-gasp winner was a rather cruel way for Phillips’ side to be dumped out of the competition after such a valiant effort, but the new manager is confident she has seen enough from her new charges to be confident of a WSL revival.
“They’re good enough. They’ve got it in them,” Phillips said, when asked about the prospect of her players surviving the drop.
“It’s just about building an identity. They’ve not had the chance to properly do that with the changes in management. So we have to build an identity, we have to build belief and that’s what we’re going to stay focused on.”
Mary Earps responds to blunder
For both club and country, Mary Earps has established herself as a colossus at the back. But her aura of infallibility took a bit of a hit when she spilled the ball at the feet of Andressa Alves in England’s Finalissima clash with Brazil earlier this month.
On that night, she made herself the hero in the penalty shootout to atone for her rare misstep, and she showed that mental fortitude again against Brighton.
After fumbling Sarri’s cross into her own net, Earps looked determined to make amends, even venturing out onto the field for the second half a good five minutes before the rest of her teammates.
And the 30-year-old soon showed why she’s widely regarded as the best goalkeeper in the world when she tipped Julia Zigotti’s ferocious strike over the crossbar in the second half. If both England and United are to realise their ultimate ambitions in the coming months, you’d imagine Earps will play a huge part in leading her side to glory.
United show character
United have handed out their fair share of maulings this season. Brighton, in fact, have conceded eight without reply across their two league meetings with the Reds this term.
On Saturday, however, the Seagulls did well to contain Marc Skinner’s side for large spells, especially in the first half and United had to be patient in order to find the breakthrough.
The fact that that breakthrough didn’t come until the 89th minute is proof enough of what an arduous afternoon it was for the Reds at Leigh Sports Village. And while United will be hoping they can impose their more free-flowing style of play on their opponents in the coming weeks, their performance against Brighton proved they have the character to bounce back from adversity and fight until the end.
Skinner lauds super-sub Williams
It took Rachel Williams just eleven minutes to make her mark on the tie. The veteran striker was brought on for Alessia Russo in the 78th minute and made the most of her one real sighting of goal.
Her scene-stealing cameo came as no surprise to Marc Skinner though, who was also manager during her time at Birmingham City, and was full of praise for his number 28.
“If I was playing against Rachel, I’d hate it,” he said after the game.
"She keeps you honest, she works hard, she’s physically a beast. But the beauty of her finish was excellent."
