Sam Kerr’s second-half objective proved the distinction as Chelsea beat Manchester United 1-0 to win a 3rd successive English Women’s FA Cup last earlier than a record-breaking crowd at Wembley on Sunday.
But it wanted a determined block from Chelsea goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger within the seventh minute of added-on time to disclaim United an equaliser in entrance of 77,390 spectators — a world-record attendance for a home ladies’s soccer match.
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Chelsea supervisor Emma Hayes’s choice to deliver on Pernille Harder, who has been injured for a lot of the season, simply earlier than the hour proved a turning level in a match the place United had the higher of the early exchanges.
“I feel it’s the signal of a terrific group, we didn’t have our greatest recreation however we pushed via,” Australia striker Kerr informed the BBC.
Hayes mentioned her group’s expertise of big-match events at Wembley had served them effectively.
“We’ve performed right here extra instances than Stamford Bridge. Yes it’s house.”
Hayes added: “We know easy methods to keep in a recreation and even when we weren’t at our greatest we’ve to work out easy methods to change it.”
It took United, of their first ladies’s FA Cup last, simply 20 seconds after kick-off to place the ball into the Chelsea internet just for the objective to be disallowed for offside.
Chelsea, the reigning English ladies’s Super League champions, didn’t clear Ella Toone’s cross from the fitting and Leah Galton swept the ball in.
Sam Kerr scored the one objective for Chelsea within the ladies’s FA Cup last. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
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But the flag had gone up, with VAR confirming Toone had moved a fraction too early.
United, who solely established a ladies’s group in 2018, dominated the primary half. They virtually broke the impasse simply after the half-hour when Millie Turner’s deflected effort was effectively saved by Berger.
United went shut once more when Galton poked the ball over from six yards out from an Alessia Russo cross.
But three minutes earlier than half-time, Chelsea virtually punished United’s failure to take their probabilities when Lauren James’s looping header was brilliantly clawed away one-handed by United goalkeeper Mary Earps, one of many heroines of England’s European Championship final-winning group at Wembley final 12 months.
Goalless on the interval, the match turned in Chelsea’s favour quickly after Harder got here on.
Maya Le Tissier didn’t cope with a protracted ball and Kerr raced on to it down the left wing.
The ensuing cross discovered Harder, however her first contact noticed the ball trapped beneath her foot, and a weak shot proved no drawback for Earps.
Kerr helped Chelsea to a third-straight ladies’s FA Cup. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
Harder, nonetheless, was instrumental in Chelsea going 1-0 up within the 68th minute when her wonderful low cross from out on the fitting discovered Kerr, who didn’t have to interrupt stride as she turned the ball in on the again publish.
Kerr’s objective meant the ahead, who celebrated together with her trademark again flip, had scored in three consecutive FA Cup finals.
“Sam Kerr is priceless however let’s credit score Pernille,” mentioned Hayes.
“We know we wanted extra stretching runs,” added the Blues boss, who has now gained 12 main trophies since taking cost of Chelsea in 2012.
United virtually made it 1-1 within the very closing levels when Berger flapped at a cross, solely to dam Galton’s shot earlier than Chelsea cleared the hazard to remain heading in the right direction for one more league and cup ‘double’.
Afterwards, rueful United supervisor Marc Skinner mentioned: “Chelsea have carried out hardly something within the recreation, however they’re winners for a motive, they discover that tiny little hole.”
He added: “We gained’t dwell on this, it fuels us. We watch this (Chelsea’s celebrations), this will likely be us in future.”
