Manchester City captain Steph Houghton lifts the 2020 Women's FA Cup trophy. Credit: The FA

Manchester City has claimed the 50th Women’s FA Cup, beating Everton 3-1 at Wembley on Monday morning (AEDT) to secure the club’s third title in four years.

French striker Valérie Gauvin’s header on the hour mark cancelled out World Cup winner Sam Mewis’ effort just before half time, and with the two sides unable to be separated after 90 minutes, goals to Georgia Stanway and Janine Beckie in the second half of extra time sealed the result for City.

Taking place 50 years to the day since the first-ever Women’s FA Cup match, it was only fitting that a match of such stature should be played on the hallowed turf of Wembley – even if the turnstiles wouldn’t be ticking for the showpiece event.

With winger Claire Emslie ineligible for the carryover portion of the tournament, Everton manager Willie Kirk replaced the speedy Scot with Danish flyer Nicoline Sørensen on the right flank, while the remainder of the Blues’ starting XI lined up as usual.

City by contrast remained as per program, with American duo Mewis and Rose Lavelle patrolling midfield alongside Keira Walsh, and Ellen White once again leading the line.

Almost from the outset, Everton seemed content to allow City to play the ball around the backline, waiting for passes into the feet of Walsh before closing down through the middle of the field. This closing down through the central third pushed City into greater mobility along the flanks, with defensive stalwarts Steph Houghton and Alex Greenwood bypassing the Everton press to play wide.

Manchester City wingback Lucy Bronze bounces past Everton midfielder Damaris Egurrola. Credit: BBC

Their passes finding the always-mobile Demi Stokes and Lucy Bronze high up the pitch, City looked to either force Everton’s wingbacks Danielle Turner and Ingrid Moe Wold into early one-on-one contests down the line, or draw them forward to find space in between the lines, with Lavelle and Mewis’ tight passing trying to cut through the defence.

With a quarter hour played though, Everton made their attacking intentions clear, springing a lightning-quick counter-attack through Matildas winger Hayley Raso. Pouncing on a poor touch from Houghton in the centre circle, Raso bolted upfield in possession but was cut down in a perfectly-timed tackle by the retreating Bronze as she met City keeper Ellie Roebuck, for which Bronze was strangely booked after referee Rebecca Welch awarded an Everton freekick 25 metres from goal.

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That set-piece brought with it Everton’s first real attacking opportunity, and one Willie Kirk’s side would look back on as a missed opportunity. After Turner blasted her attempt low into the wall, chaos reigned, but only long enough for Damaris Egurrola to find the ball at her feet before gleefully spooning it over the bar from all of 12 yards out.

Five minutes later former Evertonian Chloe Kelly forced MacIver into the first difficult save of the match, taking advantage of some stand-offish marking from Turner to cut back on her weak foot and hit a low, fizzing shot towards the bottom corner, which the Blues keeper did well to palm away.

Just before the half-hour mark, City were given an opportunity from a set piece, and went inches from converting it, with Mewis ghosting between her markers and heading Greenwood’s left-footed delivery over the bar.

Everton had been warned of the rangy American’s aerial ability, but could only stand and watch as she perfected her finish with five minutes of the first half to play, slipping away from her marker and heading beyond MacIver to open the scoring just before the break.

Everton’s marking at the set piece had been seriously lacking on both occasions, and with so many clear targets for Greenwood to hit – Bronze coming in from the back post, Houghton from deep, and White to the front stick – they were simply caught short, allowing the towering Mewis to breach their defence with ease.

Behind at the break, Everton went into the second half clearly needing an equaliser, and with attacking target Valérie Gauvin hobbled after an ankle twist midway through the opening stanza, the Blues were left wondering where the equalising goal would come from.

City went within inches of adding a second goal 10 minutes after halftime, forcing not one but two world-class saves from MacIver in the Everton goal; played into the box by Lavelle, Weir produced a low shot as she slid to meet the ball, only to see her effort touched onto the far post by MacIver, before Kelly drew an even better diving save from the Blues keeper, sprawling back across her goal to block her friend-turned-foe’s side footed shot from six yards.

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Everton almost made City pay cash moments later after Gauvin’s initial shot from a corner was headed away. Egurrola was again Jenny-on-the-spot, but Ellie Roebuck maintained her side’s advantage with a brilliant diving save.

Gauvin would not be denied for long however, winning a free header at the front post to power Izzy Christiansen’s corner beyond Roebuck and breathe life back into the match.

Allowed to roam freely by Stokes’ uncharacteristically traffic-cone-like defending, Gauvin beat the advancing Roebuck to the punch, turning her head sideways and flicking her effort inside the post to restore parity.

 

City continued to push deep into injury time, pulling and pushing Everton’s disciplined defensive lines as they pleased, and would have won the match with seconds to play if not for the woodwork, as Weir found herself on the end of a neat passing move before thundering a shot off the crossbar from the edge of the Everton area.

Having chased the ball for nearly the entire 90 minutes as City dominated almost two-thirds of posession, Kirk looked for a spark from his bench in extra time. The Everton coach withdrew Lucy Graham just before the final whistle in favour of Molly Pike, and introduced Poppy Pattinson, Simone Magill and Abbey-Leigh Stringer as like-for-like substitutions for defender Rikke Sevecke, Egurrola, and the limping Gauvin.

Manchester City winger Chloe Kelly is confronted by Everton defenders Danielle Turner and Rikke Sevecke, and midfielder Demaris Egurrola. Credit: The FA

MacIver once again saved Everton’s blushes from a set piece in first half stoppage time, but only after having her own saved first; stranded after a defensive mix-up with Turner, MacIver could do nothing but watch on in horror as substitute Stanway tried to pass into an open net, only for Megan Finnigan to steal possession away at the final moment.

The resulting corner drew from MacIver the save of the match – and potentially the best of her young career so far – as she flew back across her goal to touch Houghton’s header onto the post and away to safety.

 

Eventually however, the amber-and-blue wall would crack, though there was precious little MacIver could do this time to paper over the cracks in her side’s defence.

Found by a perfectly-weighted Jessica Park through-ball, Stanway slid in front of the advancing MacIver to prod the ball under the diving Everton keeper, putting her team in front with just short of nine minutes to play.

Stanway had her part to play in City’s third as well, playing fellow substitute Beckie into space to put the icing on a well-deserved victory.

Latching onto a headed ball from Roebuck’s long clearance, Stanway strode confidently towards the retreating defence before unselfishly sliding a right-angle pass to her left to Beckie, who side footed her shot into the bottom corner, breaking Everton’s hearts and ensuring the Cup would be heading back to Manchester.

 

Everton 1 (Valérie Gauvin 60’)
Manchester City 3 (Samantha Mewis 40’ Georgia Stanway 111’ Janine Beckie 120’+2)
after extra time

Everton: Sandy MacIver; Danielle Turner, Megan Finnigan, Rikke Sevecke (Poppy Pattinson 91’), Ingrid Moe Wold; Isobel Christiansen, Damaris Egurrola (Abbey-Leigh Stringer 99’), Lucy Graham (Molly Pike 90’+2); Hayley Raso (yellow card 25’, Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah 76’), Valérie Gauvin (Simone Magill 91’), Nicoline Sørensen.

Manchester City: Ellie Roebuck; Demi Stokes, Stephanie Houghton, Alex Greenwood, Lucy Bronze (yellow card 15’); Rose Lavelle (Jessica Park 70’), Samantha Mewis, Keira Walsh; Caroline Weir, Ellen White (Georgia Stanway 63’, yellow card 81’), Chloe Kelly (Janine Beckie 118’).

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