- Manchester United Women have won the Women’s FA Cup final for the first time in history after thrashing Tottenham Hotspur 4-0
- The win will ease pressure on manager Marc Skinner considering his side have not had a smooth campaign so far
Manchester United Women have won the Women’s FA Cup final for the first time in history after thrashing Tottenham Hotspur 4-0 at Wembley. It was United’s first major trophy since their inception in 2018 and a victory that was somehow guaranteed considering they have never lost to Spurs.
Ella Toone fired United into the lead on the stroke of half-time with a brilliant strike from outside the penalty box. Rachel Williams then scored two goals before Spanish forward Lucia Garcia sealed the win with 16 minutes left to play.
United made in history in front of 76,082 fans, which included the club’s co-owner Avram Glazer and Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy. The win will ease pressure on manager Marc Skinner considering his side have not had a smooth campaign so far.
Manchester United’s Lucia Garcia scores against Tottenham on Sunday in the Women’s FA Cup final. Photo/ Reuters.
Speaking after today’s match, United’s goalscorer Williams said her side’s historic triumph will mask the issues the club has had this season. The 36-year-old also hinted that a change could take place next year.
“We don’t like to admit it but it does mask over the issues we’ve had. We have had some ups and downs this year… We are going to have change things next year. That’s football, teams go through transition. You have a good year, you have a dip.” Rachel Williams told BBC after Manchester United won the Women’s FA Cup, according to Reuters.
United return to action next Saturday when they play Chelsea at home in their final match of this season’s Women’s Super League. Meanwhile, Tottenham Hotspur will play Chelsea on Wednesday before ending their campaign at home against West Ham next weekend.
How Man Utd Won The Women’s FA Cup Final
The 2024 Women’s FA Cup Final was the first final in over two decades without one of Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City. It provided a golden opportunity for both Manchester United and Tottenham to win the prestigious trophy for the first time in their history.
United made two changes to the squad that played their last match, with Rachel Williams and Jayde Riviere replacing Nikita Parris and Gemma Evans respectively. Tottenham also had two changes that saw Molly Bartrip and Grace Clinton being replaced by Amy James-Turner and Martha Thomas.
With both sides aiming to triumph, the opening minutes from this clash showed signs of a thrilling clash. Matilda Vinberg came close to giving Spurs the lead before Leah Galton also went close for United.
Rachel Williams threatened to score from two corner kicks and Lucia Garcia also saw a superb effort being blocked as United showed their dominance in set pieces. Millie Turner’s header from yet another set piece was cleared off the line by Martha Thomas to keep Spurs in this tie. Drew Spence handled the ball in the box afterwards but was lucky to go unpunished.
Manchester United’s pressure on Spurs eventually paid off on the stroke of halftime as Ella Toone capitalized on an error by Spurs defence before unleashing a thunderous strike into the roof of the net. Williams’ prowess on aerial balls eventually bore fruits in the 54th minute as she headed home to increase her side’s lead to 2-0.
Manchester United have won the Women’s FA Cup for the first time in history. Photo/ France 24.
Spurs hope of pulling a comeback were ended three minutes later when Spence gifted the ball to Garcia and the Spaniard made no mistake as she converted from close range.
Bethany England’s header hit the bar before before Garcia sealed the win for Manchester United via deflection.
Whereas it was a historic evening for Manchester United as they clinched the Women’s FA Cup, it was a heartbreak for Spurs who will hope to take the experience to next season.
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