Millie Turner stepped onto the field as a substitute and stepped off just five minutes later as a hero when her header drove Manchester United to victory and kept their title dreams alive with a 3-2 win.
Manager Marc Skinner said: “We didn’t just get out, we broke out of jail. We do not give up. When your chips are down you have to find different ways to score and we have the ability to do that.”
Rachel Daly gave Aston Villa the lead twice in the game, cancelled out by Leah Galton and Nikita Parris but it was the last-minute goal from a set piece that sent United temporarily seven points clear of reigning champions Chelsea in the Women’s Super League.
“In the first half, we were not good enough and we said that, we told each other that at half time. We aren't tight enough and Rachel Daly is absolutely deadly in the box,” said Skinner who went into the break 2-1 down when it arguably should have been on level terms, two-goals-a-piece.
Hayley Ladd’s goal was ruled out when Villa goalkeeper Hannah Hampton was blocked and went down in the area, “It was their player blocking the goalkeeper and they [the ref] gave a foul.
“That's a goal for us,” he added.
A decision that would be likely overturned with goal-line technology or VAR, as the replays saw a Claret and Blue shirt get in the way of Hampton. Skinner was unhesitant in his plea for an improvement in the officiating aspect of the game: “The league has to invest and has to make sure these referees have the opportunity to do it full time, not have to go away to a day job and then come back - that's not fair.
“Players are getting better because they're full-time, make our referees full time and that's a start. Then we can look at a light VAR. Anything that can help just to shorten the gap.”
While devastating at the time, his side clawed back the win and three points to see them continue to embark on their most successful season yet. Skinner said: “If we win our last four games that will be a wonderful, wonderful season for us but we’re taking it one game at a time. Tottenham is next week and that will be a very difficult game too.”
United host Tottenham on Sunday, May 7, then travel to Wembley for the Vitality women’s FA Cup final to face Chelsea, only to return to WSL action against City in the Manchester derby in the penultimate game of the season, followed by Liverpool on May 27 to end the campaign.
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