Toone soothes nerves as Manchester United survive scare in Women’s FA Cup | OneFootball

Whisper it quietly, but Manchester United Women are having a very good season. Sitting second in the Women’s Super League as the only team putting up any real fight against Chelsea, they are now through to the FA Cup semi-finals after seeing off second-tier Sunderland and moving another step closer to defending the trophy they won last term.

It is not a narrative many would have expected in this campaign, for a team with a head coach, Marc Skinner, whom social media users seem to despise, and at a club with an owner who is also earning the dismay of many fans. But amid all of this are a team really beginning to flourish and now enjoying a run of 11 victories in their past 12 matches in all competitions.

Indeed, for a brief moment at the end of the first half in Saturday’s win, it seemed as though the only thing not functioning as it should at Leigh Sports Village was the sprinkler system, which sprung into action so quickly at the sound of the half-time whistle that some players were running for cover. Alas, references to this being a “damp squib” of a cup tie were not appropriate because the home side were already 2-0 up and providing plenty of entertainment.

However, the over-eager sprinklers did not deliver the most bizarre moment of this quarter‑final. That accolade belonged to the Sunderland goal which gave the game a relatively tense finale. In the 70th minute, with the hosts seemingly coasting through, Louise Griffiths, on as a substitute and playing for the first time in 11 months after a knee injury, closed down the United captain, Maya Le Tissier, in the area, blocked the centre-back’s clearance and saw the ball ricochet straight into the bottom corner, giving the visitors some late hope.

It was a rare lapse from the hosts, who have conceded just six goals in 15 league games. Any worried United fans need not have panicked as Ella Toone’s late header made it 3-1 to book a semi-final place for a third season in a row. A lesser team might have lost focus and concentration after giving away such a soft goal but they stayed true to their inner confidence and rarely looked like letting in an equaliser.

Nonetheless, they will not get too overexcited after beating the 2009 finalists Sunderland, who were the lowest-ranked team left in the competition, and the last club from outside the WSL. The balance of the play was reflective of the two teams’ relative positions in the pyramid.

The holders sought to create space in wide areas, utilising the strengths of their wingers and they enjoyed success with that tactic. Their two wide players, Celin Bizet and Leah Galton, combined for the opening goal inside seven minutes when the latter stooped to head the former’s whipped cross into the bottom corner. Le Tissier headed in from Gabby George’s corner just before the break to make the scoreline more accurately reflect the hosts’ dominance.

United were rather wasteful in front of goal in the second half and Sunderland were rewarded for never giving up when Griffiths scored in unusual style, but Toone made the victory safe, the England midfielder heading in unmarked from Bizet’s cross. On this form, Wembley may be welcoming them for a third straight year.

Header image: [Photograph: Cody Froggatt/PA]