United Women learn FA Cup final opponents

16 days ago

It's currently 5:35 PM on Sunday, April 14th, 2024.

On Sunday 12 May, the Adobe Women's FA Cup final will see Manchester United take on Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley Stadium.

The Reds led by Marc Skinner were able to secure their spot in the final match for the second consecutive year by defeating Chelsea in an exciting semi-final showdown held at Leigh Sports Village.

It was not only our initial achievement over Emma Hayes' team, but it also stopped Chelsea's unbeaten record of 18 games in the tournament, following winning the prize for the past three years.

The second semi-final game featuring Spurs and Leicester took place at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and was almost finished when United started playing in Leigh. The home team managed to clinch the win after a prolonged match in north London that required extra time.

Martha Thomas, formerly a forward for United, scored the important goal at 118 minutes during the game, leading Spurs to their inaugural major final. Leicester, who had been ahead since the 12th minute, were overcome with disappointment a mere seven minutes before normal time ended when Spurs took advantage of a defensive blunder to even the score and necessitate extra time.

Our last match is against Tottenham and it's the most important one as we both were promoted from the Women's Championship in 2019. We will face each other in this significant game.

Our track record against them has been impressive, as we have won 10 out of 11 games against them in the league. Our only non-victory was a 1-1 draw in November 2021. Hannah Blundell, Ella Toone, Melvine Malard, and Hayley Ladd scored goals that led to our team achieving a commanding 4-0 win during the WSL away game earlier this season. Spurs will be visiting Leigh for a league game next weekend, which will also be a dress rehearsal for the Wembley final.

Lucia Garcia and Rachel Williams netted the goals in the semi-final to give United the opportunity to secure their first major trophy, after a heart-wrenching 1-0 loss to Chelsea at Wembley almost a year ago.

In the match, the Blues scored one goal by Lauren James towards the end of the first half, but Mary Earps was outstanding in goal by stopping many attempts and the entire Manchester United team worked together to defend and secure the win.

All of the regular admission tickets for the final have been sold out, but both United and Spurs will now receive 12,000 tickets each. This is 50% more than what the clubs were given for last season's final.