by Adam Millington
at the Academy Stadium

EMMA HAYES was pleased by the manner in which her side won when they triumphed 3-0 over Manchester City in the semi-finals of the FA Cup yesterday afternoon.

Last year’s competition has carried over to this season due to Covid-19 disrupting the previous campaign, and goals from Erin Cuthbert and Melanie Leupolz put the Blues in the lead in the first half before Bethany England made it three in the last minute of normal time.

Hayes was happy to see her side win a game at the Academy Stadium without the need for additional time, a feat they have not previously achieved.

She said: “I just wanted to win the game, and we haven’t won the game up here in 90 minutes before. I just wanted to get that off of our back, and I think we did that convincingly. 

“I thought the players that started the game did the job we needed them to do and I think the players from the bench were fantastic. The impact they made, the energy they brought, from the charisma to the performance, I thought it was a team that once again shows their manager that they want to keep improving. 

“And I feel we’ve improved on the last game. I love that we have a clean sheet, I love that Ann Berger pulled off a wonderful save at the end.

“I thought she was fantastic coming into the team, I thought Jess [Carter] did a great job on Lauren Hemp. I thought the midfield was superb and Fran [Kirby] and Erin [Cuthbert] worked tirelessly for the team in the end.”

City boss Gareth Taylor was disappointed that his side let in two goals in quick succession in the first half.

“I think the first half is where we ultimately lost the game,” he admitted. “I think we were in decent control. The first 20 minutes were quite good for us, and as soon as we conceded in quick succession, it affected us. We obviously had a good conversation at half time, changed things around a bit.

“The second half was OK in that respect and we showed spirit to come back, but I think those first couple of goals ultimately decided the tie.”