photo via chelseafcw on instagram
Chelsea XI: Hampton (GK), Carpenter, Buurman, Nusken, Cuthbert ©, James, Thompson, Girma, Rytting-Kaneryd, Bronze, Walsh
Substitutes: Baltimore (46’), Kerr (72’), Buchanan (91’), Reiten (91’), Kaptein (91’)
Manchester United XI:Tullis-Joyce (GK), Le Tissier ©, Lundkvist, Park, Mallard, Naalsund, Janssen, Zigiotti Olme, Wangerheim, Miyazawa, Turner
Substitutes: Terland (70’), Awujo (70’), Schuller (106’), George (106’)
The fifth round of the cup saw teams up and down the country face off in a bid to progress to the quarter finals of the Adobe Women’s FA Cup this weekend. For Chelsea FC it meant a repeat opf last year’s FA Cup Final as they hosted Manchester United at home for the first time in the competition.
The teams have met three times in the competition before, with the blues claiming victories in both finals at Wembley Stadium and the Red Devils seeing victory at home to progress to the finals in 2024.
More recently, the teams faced off in the Barclays Womens Super League in Manchester where the sides drew 1-1 thanks to a goal from each side inside the first 20 minutes.
Manchester United took the kick off in South London through Lisa Naalsund however were unable to keep [ppossesion for long, with Chelsea’s counter attack earning both a free kick and a blocked shot going out of play.
The resulting corner gave Keira Walsh an option to shoot in the edge of the area however her shot was blocked once more.
The following moments continued with Manchester United having the upper hand however failing to prove any real threat infront of goal.
It wasnt until the 6th minute that Chelsea regained their possession, with Alyssa Thompson speed working in the Blues favour and Johanna Rytting Kaneryd breaking free in the middle of the field, a touch too many however meant that Domnique Janssen could do just enough to stop the winger from getting the shot off.
The ninth minute brought trouble for Manchester United once again, with Alyssa Thompson forcing a stellar save from the United goal keeper.
Unfortunately for the Blue’s, the two resulting corners led to nothing, and the Red Devils were in possession once again.
A relatively quiet ten minutes meant that neither team provided much promise infront of goal, with several throw-ins taking place instead.
It was in the 25th minute where the game started to pick up again, Chelsea’s press resulting in multiple goal kicks whilst Manchester United’s attempts were also sought wide.
The 28th minute saw Alyssa Thompson link up with companions, Sjoeke Nusken and Lauren James, the attackers shot was however shot wide once more.
The 29th minute saw yet another corner from Chelsea, with Erin Cuthbert’s corner kicked directly into Tullis-Joyce’s gloves in an impressive attempt on goal.
Just three minutes later, Erin Cuthbert was through on goal once again, with the Manchester United goal keeper called into action once again.
Chelsea’s dominance continued in the following moments, allowing Dutch youngster, Veerle Buurman to get in on the action. Her shot was however blocked with the reds defence blocking the shot once again.
The 41st minute saw Ellie Carpenter break free on the right, progressing on goal with wealths of space however her resulting cross was unable to find the feet of any blue’s.
With Chelsea’s dominance on the up, Lauren James received a ball within the attacking third, her shot however was seen wide by the United defence.
Half time: Chelsea 0-0 Manchester United
The beginning of the second half saw Chelsea substitute Johanna Rytting Kaneryd for Sandy Baltimore in aims for fresh legs to help break the deadlock.
A missed step from Maya Le Tissier saw Chelsea come close to a goal, however, Tullis-Joyce got her gloves to it once again, sending the ball out for a throw-in.
Chelsea’s dominance continued into the opening stages of the second half, with Alyssa Thompson forcing Tullis-Joyce into yet another save.
Maya Le Tissier stood over the ball in dangerous territory in the 55th minute, however the kick was blocked by Chelsea’s defence, with the follow up from Naalsund being blocked once more resulting in a corner for the visitors.
Moments later, the red devils earnt another corner however Veerle Buurman kicked the ball out of bounds at the far post.
United came close to a surprise opener in the 65th minute when Ellen Wangerheim rattled the post with a shot from range.
Just two minutes later, Manchester United proved threatening again with Melvine Malard taking a shot from range once again, this however was shot well wide of the goal.
The 70th minute saw Elisabeth Terland and Simi Awujo take the field in place of Ellen Wangerheim and Julia Zigiotti Olme.
The following moments saw Chelsea regain their form from the first half, with yet another shot on goal.
Alyssa Thompson made way for Sam Kerr in the 72nd minute, with the Blues continuing to look for the opener.
This addition proved a great benefit to Chelsea, with Tullis-Joyce forced into another save.
With a penable tackle from Domnique Janssen, Chelsea earnt a free kick on the edge of the box which was once tapped wide by the red defence in the 77th minute.
This corner however, proved the one for the hosts with Naomi Girma collecting the ball at the far post before passing it off for Sam Kerr who was able to tap it in from close range.
Manchester United acted accordingly with another free kick earned in the attacking half.
Maya Le Tissier stood over the ball once more, with an aim on goal eventually finding Simi Awujo who was able to level the scoring in the 81st minute.
With the score level in the 86th minute, the game looked likely to head to extra time, the teams at an equal threat to one another.
With 3 minutes added time announced, the game had seemingly amped up once more, with both sides getting increasingly hungry for the winner.
This however proved not the case, with the full time score being 1-1 and the game heading to added time.
Full time: 1-1
The beginning of extra time saw Chelsea make three more subs in Wieke Kaptein, Guro Reiten and in her return from injury, Kadeisha Buchanan.
Chelsea’s substitutes proved to be the games biggest threat once again with Wieke Kaptein linking up with Sam Kerr who shot was blocked once more.
The first half of extra time continued much the same, with Chelsea continuing to be the more dangerous side, putting the United defence to hard work. The red’s however, saw a lot less of the ball, but still provided a dangerous attacking threat.
Yet another corner was won by the hosts in the 97th minute, with Sandy Baltimore pinging it to the head of Veerle Buurman whose shot rebounded to the feet of Naomi Girma who put the blue’s ahead once again.
With one minute added time on the clock, Chelsea continued to have the upper hand and the score remained with Chelsea.
First half extra time: Chelsea 2-1 Manchester United
The start of the second half of extra time saw Gabby George and Lea Schuller replace Millie Turner and Lisa Naalsund.
With 108 minutes on the clock, it was clear that Manchester United were struggling to find a clear opportunity on goal, spells of possession few and far between.
Chelsea earned a free kick from a tug from Maya Le Tissier on the edge of the box however, Erin Cuthbert’s shot was blocked by the red devils two man wall.
Moments later, England youngster, Layla Drury took to the field, replacing Hinata Miyazawa in a bid to level the scoring once more.
Manchester United’s closest attempt came from Lea Schuller in the 114th minute, with her header coming close to the goal line but Hannah Hampton beating the ball to it.
From then on, Manchester United looked to have regained some control on the pitch, earning a free kick in similar territory to their previous goal and even sending Tullis-Joyce up for the kick.
The red devils however failed to get their goal, with Hannah Hampton proving her worth once more.
With a minute added time announced, Phallon Tullis-Joyce found the opposite box once again in a desperate bid for an equaliser, this however proved too little too late, with the full time whistle blown once more.
Full time, extra time: Chelsea 2-1 Manchester United