Manchester United head coach Marc Skinner is confident that his side will continue to grow following their 1-0 defeat to Chelsea in their first-ever Vitality Women’s FA Cup final appearance at Wembley yesterday.
Sam Kerr netted the only goal of a closely-contested tie in the second half. Manchester United had arguably created the better chances up to that point.
Despite tasting defeat in the club’s first major domestic final, Manchester United boss Skinner saw lots of positives to take away from the experience.
“There’s loads to take away from that,” Skinner said when speaking in the post-match press conference. “I thought we started well and I felt that even though Chelsea have been in many finals, we looked like we had been in many finals too. We were composed and I felt that we matured.
“At the end, we connected, we focused; we want to be where they were and that’s what we are going to strive for.”
Chelsea tested Manchester United keeper Mary Earps on very few occasions over the course of the 90 minutes. Skinner went on to say that the winning goal came from a single momentary lapse in concentration.
He said “We had some good chances where we probably could have scored and then Sam (Kerr) gets her chance and takes it. Her movement is excellent behind the line but as soon as she gets it, if you go behind the line, it is very difficult for her to score. We did everything that we could in build-up play but we switched off for a moment, they played a ball straight through our centre and they swarmed the back-line which is what they are exceptionally good at doing.
“We knew that threat was coming, it is the biggest threat that they have. We switched off for one moment and that’s what world-class players do, they punish you.”
Chelsea’s victory saw them lift their fifth Vitality Women’s FA Cup. Skinner said that The Blues have much more experience than his side but Manchester United are a club on the rise.
“We are in a growing phase, we are growing and investing but the experience that Chelsea have, the investment that they have put in over years and years is a factor as to why they won,” Skinner said.
“I feel that we are bridging gaps; even though we don’t spend their kind of budget, I think we are bridging gaps. We can show a sustainable way of doing it but we need to keep getting the best players, we need to be in the pool for the best players. The last two games can go a long way to doing that, getting into the Champions League.
“This is the club that you want to come to if you’re a top talent, this is a club that’s going places.”
Manchester United still have the Barclays Women’s Super League title to play for. The club host Manchester City at the Leigh Sports Village this weekend before travelling to Liverpool on the final day of the season. The Red Devils need Chelsea to slip up to have a chance of winning the title.
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