Match in Focus: Manchester United cling on to end Chelsea's FA Cup defence

In a tense and fraught encounter, two early goals from Marc Skinner's Manchester United was enough to eliminate Chelsea from a second domestic cup in the space of a month at Leigh Sports Village...

Lucia Garcia’s goal inside 60 seconds set Manchester United on the way to Wembley. Image: The FA

On the pattern of the final hour of the game, it would have been scarcely believable for Manchester United to record their first win against Chelsea, but after 30 minutes where the visitors couldn’t get to grips with their set up and a disciplined defensive showing did the job for the hosts who head to a second FA Cup final in succession.

Yet based on that first 30, Chelsea would have been pleased to have been in the game at all as twice Man United exploited their right-hand side and twice Leah Galton and Ella Toone between them placed pin-point crosses onto the heads of Lucia Garcia and Rachel Williams respectively.

The first, which came inside the first 60 seconds, set the tone, as it could have back at Wembley back in May had an offside flag not intervened, and Emma Hayes rued a slow start which her side did recover from to pin United back for most of the second half, but were denied by some solid defending, superb goalkeeping and certainly a few debatable decisions inside the United box.

It wasn’t just the referee’s decision making which Hayes was flustered with though as she turned to her bench and shouted “decision making” as substitute Aggie Beever-Jones drove an effort into the side-netting deep into stoppage time, with almost every Chelsea attacker available crammed inside the box waiting for a ball in.

For Hayes, it’s another trophy gone on a farewell tour which is threatening to fizzle out, while for Marc Skinner it’s the injection needed for an under-pressure manager who now has a clearer shot at a first major trophy, with fellow first-time potential FA Cup winners Tottenham Hotspur waiting in the final after beating Leicester City.

Here’s five key takeaways from the match in WFC’s view…