Manchester United win against Tottenham to claim Women's FA Cup for the first time
Manchester United Women have won the first major trophy in their history after beating Tottenham 4-0 in the FA Cup final.
Ella Toone, who started when United were narrowly beaten by Chelsea in the final a year ago, broke the deadlock with a fine finish in first-half stoppage time.
Reacting to her team's win, Toone who has played for United for six years said: "When I signed here six years ago as history makers then and every day we've been creating history and today tops it off.
"That's the icing on the cake to get an FA Cup final, get a medal, get a trophy and yeah, it feels really nice."
After Toone's first goal, Rachel Williams, appearing in her fourth FA Cup final, nodded home nine minutes after halftime, before an error by Spurs keeper Becky Spencer gifted Lucia Garcia her first goal three minutes later.
Captain Bethany England came closest for Tottenham in their maiden FA Cup final with a crossbar-clipping header before Garcia bagged her brace and put the comeback firmly out of reach.
United had gone to Wembley hoping to erase memories of last season's FA Cup final, in which they were beaten by Chelsea.
The club's American owner Avram Glazer was among the 76,000 supporters at Wembley for the showpiece event of the women's football season.
It is the first time since Birmingham’s victory in 2012 that the cup has not been won by one of Arsenal, Chelsea or Manchester City.
The first half got off to a flying start, Tottenham letting an early chance get away as Matilda Vinberg struck over the bar, before United countered with two opportunities of their own including a Williams effort from a corner nodded just over.
Williams and Vinberg soon had further chances to open the scoring – both missing headers – and by the midway point of the period there was little between the sides, Marc Skinner’s outfit looking marginally more lively but coming up short after Millie Turner and Garcia both failed to find the back of the net with close-range headers in quick succession.
Toone directed the ball over the bar with an outstretched boot, while Martha Thomas steered Spurs away from danger with an excellent block to clear Turner’s header off the line, and Toone curled United’s eighth shot of the afternoon wide of Spencer’s right-hand post.
Lisa Naalsund tried next for United, completely scuffing an effort from the edge of the area as the pace of the game waned significantly.
Just as a goalless first half began to feel like an inevitability, Toone patiently wove her way forward before unleashing a sumptuous strike from distance into the top corner.
United doubled their advantage nine minutes after the restart when Williams rose highest to meet captain Kate Zelem’s free-kick and directed her towering header into the back of the net.
It all began to unravel three minutes later when Spencer completely mishandled a clearance, instead directing her pass straight at Garcia, who obliged the gift with a simple finish.
Spurs were still looking for their first shot on target when England came inches away from pulling one back with Tottenham’s best chance of the afternoon, clipping the crossbar with her header.
Any hope of Tottenham staging a miraculous comeback was thoroughly quashed when they could not deal with substitute Melvine Malard’s cross and Garcia pounced, rifling home to seal the deserved victory.
After the team lifted the trophy, Manchester United Women's captain Kate Zelem said: "It was incredible. I am a Manchester United fan, it's my childhood club so to lift the trophy for Manchester United now it is a dream come true.
"We all know that our league form wasn't what we would have liked. I think we have points to build on there, but we've got a trophy in the cabinet and a gold medal around our neck. So I think FA Cup wise. Brilliant."