The pressure was most certainly on Manchester United ahead of this Adobe Women’s FA Cup quarterfinal clash on Saturday, after Red Devils boss Marc Skinner told reporters in his pre-match press conference that ‘it’s going to look like a failure’ if his side failed to reach the Wembley final.
BHA: Baggaley; Kullberg, Thorisdóttir, Bergsvand, Bremer; Olme, Losada; Sarri, Pinto, Robinson; Terland
MUN: Earps; Blundell, Turner, Le Tissier, Riviere; Naalsund, Zelem; Malard, Toone, García; Parris
Manchester United lived up to the old adage of pressure forming diamonds on Saturday afternoon, taking just eight minutes to seize the lead at Broadfield Stadium as Millie Turner slammed a header past ex-United ‘keeper Sophie Baggaley following an inviting Katie Zelem delivery.
That would merely be the start of the Red Devils’ goalscoring rout though, with Melvine Malard feeding Nikita Parris with a well-placed through ball just nine minutes later to allow the English forward to beat Baggaley at the near post.
Embed from Getty ImagesTo Brighton’s credit, the Seagulls were perhaps unlucky to halve the deficit at points, but found themselves trailing by three goals before the interval after Lucia García picked up the pieces from Malard’s shot that struck the post.
They’d fall further behind in the second half, with Lisa Naalsund picking out the back of the net from the edge of the box after the Seagulls failed to properly deal with a set-piece.
Manchester United will find out their semifinal opponents on Tuesday morning, with the draw set to take place on BBC Radio 5 Live. The Red Devils will feel confident of reaching the final at Wembley Stadium, and will have aspirations of going one better than last season’s loss to Chelsea under the arch.
