The entire Manchester United team can hold their heads high after yesterday’s performance at Wembley. They lost 1-0 to reigning champions Chelsea who kept the Vitality Women's FA Cup silverware in blue for the third year in a row, the fifth time overall, but they didn't give up without a fight.
As cliché as it sounds, it was a game of two halves. United dominated the first 45 while the Blues took charge of the second, and essentially it all came down to Sam Kerr slotting home the winner - who else?
The Australian timed her run perfectly, in the blind spot of Maya Le Tissier, to meet Pernille Harder’s cross. It was too close for Mary Earps to do anything about it and so tucked the ball just inside the near post, meaning heartache for the Reds.
Here are some talking points from the historic day at Wembley...
Sea of Red shirts - the Manchester massive
On the way to Wembley, all I saw was red shirts everywhere. Marc Skinner always says he has the best fans in the country, and boy did they turn up in their masses. Even the ‘unallocated’ seats were occupied by red shirts. For a 400-mile round trip from Manchester to Wembley it was amazing to see how many United fans there were, from all walks of life.
The atmosphere was electric and Skinner promised his fans after the game: “We will be back, for you.”
Nothing to be ashamed of
I get the heartache, I think we all do, but there is nothing this Manchester United team need to get down about. They showed up and stunned everyone when Leah Galton hit the back of the net 20 seconds in! What a fantastic start.
The first-half performances were sensational from the Reds considering it was their first time together in a cup final. But that fact didn’t show at all. United penned the Blues into their own half for the first 30 minutes and found out how to keep Lauren James, Guro Reiten and Sam Kerr under wraps. While the second half was sloppier, there was no player that wasn't giving 100 percent. Everyone looked exhausted having left everything out on that field.
Skinner looking for reinforcements
Post-match Skinner did mention the game was lost in the physical element that made Ella Toone somewhat obsolete come the second half - it's not her game. This sore loss will spark awareness into his roster come next season when they’re competing against the best in Europe. And for that, he said he will need to invest in physicality in recruitment.
A moment for Hannah Blundell
I thought the backline were exceptional but a special mention, in my opinion, goes to left-back Blundell. When Lauren James comes at you, full speed, I’m going to get out the way pretty fast but Blundell did a sensational job keeping James quiet. She stood the Chelsea forward so well, not giving an inch. She didn’t try to get a toe and nick the ball, she didn’t get too close for James to dance around her, she stood perfectly and that is not an easy job to do to be so disciplined in defending. Kudos to Blundell.
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