2
Manchester United Women ended their long-running misery of never winning against Chelsea with a 2-1 win that sends them to Wembley for the FA Cup final against Tottenham.
United got off to a flying start as Lucia Garcia headed in Galton’s cross to the back post in the first minute. The crowd went wild.
As the game settled, Chelsea controlled possession but United looked threatening when they won the ball back.
United defended resolutely. James had a shot that went wide, much to the relief of the home fans.
At the other end, United fought hard for every ball and Toone delivered a lovely ball into the box, Garcia and Williams were waiting and it was the latter who headed it in at the near post.
United had to be patient off the ball as Chelsea launched wave after wave of attacks. With five minutes of injury time to play Chelsea’s pressure paid off. A shot came in that Earps magnificently saved.
However, although United had kept her quiet, Lauren James found a way back in for the blues, netting just before the break.
Chelsea were relentless in the second half and United were hanging on for dear life.
Earps made two fantastic saves to maintain United’s lead in the first ten minutes of the second half.
The game was getting edgy as Chelsea tried to play for free kicks and penalties, meanwhile United were putting their bodies on the line with every wave of attack.
United netted a third but it was ruled out for offside.
Corner after corner came in, free kick after free kick but there was always a Millie Turner to head away, and Hayley Ladd to boot it up field.
Every single player was defending like their lives depended on it. Earps got booked for time-wasting. There were eight minutes of injury time but somehow United held on. As the ball went wide following a corner, there was one last big kick from Earps and the ref put her whistle to her mouth.
The north stand erupted, the curse had been broken and United had beaten Chelsea for the first time in their history to book their place at Wembley. Happy tears flowed from fans and players alike.
Team: Earps, Mannion, Le Tissier, Turner, Blundell, Naalsund, Toone (Ladd), Garcia, Galton (Parris), Williams (Malard)
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