Rachel Williams’ late strike saw Manchester United defeat Brighton 3-2 in a tense semi-final thriller to reach 2022-23 Women’s FA Cup Final.
Williams fired in a 89th minute winner from Katie Zelem’s through ball on a quick counter-attack to send Man Utd through to their first-ever Women’s FA Cup Final.
Alessia Russio had put Utd ahead in the 71st minute after Leah Galton equalised in the 46th minute to cancel out Mary Earps’ own-goal from Veatriki Sarri’s shot, which had put Brighton ahead in the 36th minute before Danielle Carter equalised for the Seagulls in the 75th minute.
Man Utd will face the winner of Aston Villa’s semi-final against Chelsea in the 2022-23 Women’s FA Cup at Wembley Stadium, London, on Sunday 14 May.
Although both teams knew that a maiden Women’s FA Cup Final appearance awaited the winner, Brighton made the brightest start as Katie Robinson’s fourth-minute chipped cross from the right flank evaded everyone in the box.
Sarri one minute later saw her cross from the left flank knocked down by Elisabeth Terland, only to be swiftly cleared by Utd’s defence.
Man Utd though won both Women’s Super League (WSL) meetings this season against Brighton by 4-0 results, and almost took a 11th minute lead as Ella Toone fired over on the rebound after Zelem’s cross was blocked by Poppy Pattinson.
Millie Turner then blocked Robinson’s pass a minute later with goalkeeper, Mary Earps clearing the subsequent corner, as Utd found themselves unable to dominate like they’ve done on many occasions this season.
Lucia Garcia though saw a 20th minute shot from Alessia Russo’s pullback pass blocked by Brighton’s disciplined defence as the Seagulls continued to impress in their first match under new manager, Melissa Phillips.
Russo and Leah Galton then saw a shot and header respectively denied by Brighton’s Lydia Williams, with Ona Batlle rifling wide on the rebound after a 29th minute corner was blocked following Williams’ scrappy block of Galton’s header.
Brighton’s resilient display eventually earned its reward as Sarri broke forward up the left flank at pace, which ultimately saw her find space near the near-left post to rifle in via Mary Earps’ deflective fumble into her own net to hand the Seagulls a shock lead.
Sarri was initially credited with the goal which was quickly clarified as Earps’ own goal which marked a rare error from Utd and England’s number-one goalkeeper.
Utd almost responded in the 38th minute as Russo picked up Toone’s pass and unleashed a shot on the turn, which unfortunately rolled wide of the bottom-right corner.
Garcia then cut in from the right past two Brighton defenders in the 40th minute, only for Williams to comfortably save her shot as Brighton protected their lead through to the half-time break.
Utd however came back out fighting and broke forward apace as Batlle ran apce up the right flank, culminating in her pullback cross being flicked into the near-right bottom corner by Leah Galton barely a minute into the second half to restore parity.
Galton almost turned provider in the 49th minute as she pulled back a cross which was rifled over by Toone.
Brighton eventually settled and almost retook the lead in the 58th minute as Julia Zigiotti Olme saw a powerful shot punched behind by Earps.
Utd soon proceeded to dominate the ball with little end product until Zelem played through Russo in the 71st minute, from which the England forward rifled into the roof of the net to complete the Red Devils’ turnaround.
Brighton though refused to give up despite their underdog status as substitute, Carter intercepted Turner in the 75th minute battling for Olme’s long ball after Toone lost possession and calmly rolled across into the far-right bottom corner to equalise for the Seagulls to set up a tense finish.
Utd manager, Marc Skinner substituted Russo in the 78th minute for Rachel Williams and his gamble paid off 11 minutes later, as Zelem broke on the counter from a Brighton attack and teed up Williams to rifle in the winning goal.
Skinner’s WSL table-topping Red Devils now are through to their first-ever major showpiece final, where they will face either Villa or Chelsea for this season’s Women’s FA Cup title.
What’s Next?
Man Utd host Arsenal in a crunch Women’s Super League showdown on Wednesday 19 April in a 7:15pm BST kick-off, live on BBC3 in the UK.
Brighton meanwhile host Everton in an rearranged clash on the same evening, albeit at 7pm BST live on FA Player.
Teams
Man Utd: Mary Earps, Ona Batlle, Maya Le Tissier, Millie Turner, Hannah Blundell, Hayley Ladd, Katie Zelem, Leah Galton (Mannion 90+1′), Alessia Russo (Williams 78′), Ella Toone, Lucia Garcia (Thomas 61′)
Subsititutes: Sophie Baggaley, Aoife Mannion, Jayde Riviere, Aissatou Tounkara, Vilde Boe Risa, Estelle Cascarino, Nikita Parris, Martha Thomas, Rachel Williams
Brighton: Lydia Williams, Jorja Fox, Emma Kullberg, Zoe Morse, Poppy Pattinson, Veatriki Sarri (Stott 59′), Libby Bance (Carter 59′), Elisabeth Terland (Connolly 58′), Julia Zigiotti Olme, Katie Robinson (Visalli 90′), Lee Geum-min,
Substitutes: Megan Walsh, Kayleigh Green, Victoria Williams, Rebekah Stott, Brianna Visalli, Park Ye-eun, Megan Connolly, Dejana Stefanovic, Danielle Carter
Referee – Kirsty Dowle
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