KINGSMEADOW, 22 FEB — After 120 minutes of hard-fought gameplay, Chelsea emerged victorious with a late goal by American defender Naomi Girma to edge out Manchester United in the fifth round of the women’s FA Cup at Kingsmeadow on Sunday.
In the 99th minute Manchester United’s Phallon Tullis-Joyce attempted to block a header from Keira Walsh, but the ball found Girma who tapped it in for a game-saving goal to make it 2-1 for the Blues after a 1-1 tie at 90 minutes.
Head coach Sonia Bompastor said in a pre-match interview: “We know we are facing a really good team. They are in really good form and there have been a lot of wins in the games for them recently. So we are prepared for that and, as usual, the training this week has been good.”
After an intense 78 minutes, and a hint of sunlight, Australian forward Sam Kerr came off the bench only seven minutes before her game-changing play where she sneaked the ball past goalkeeper Tullis-Joyce after a header from German midfielder Sjoeke Nũsken.
The Red Devils didn’t let the Blues get away with their lead for long, smashing a goal into the net three minutes after Kerr’s opener.
In the 81st minute former USA U17 international Simi Awujo found herself with a ricocheted ball as Chelsea attempted to clear a United free kick, and after a moment of composure she rocketed the ball into the top corner to get her side back in the game.
In the final 15 minutes Manchester United made many attempts to level but could only find the post as Chelsea worked to defend their spot in the quarter-finals.
Bompastor leapt for joy when the final whistle blew.
The Blues will continue forward in the FA Cup to the quarter-final taking place this April.
“As a coach, sometimes you want to change some tactics in the game,” Bompastor said. “Being able to bring in different profiles with different strengths into the game helps a lot.”
The two sides will meet again in Chelsea’s next match on 15 March at Kingsmeadow for the Women’s League Cup Final. Both teams now enter the international break during which the Lionesses will face Ukraine and Iceland over the next two weeks.
