Chelsea 1 Man Utd 0: Sam Kerr strike secures Blues’ third Women’s FA Cup as world record set in front of Prince William
SAM KERR sent Chelsea fans into delirium as her strike dashed Manchester United’s hopes of an FA Cup upset at Wembley.
The striker’s ritual of eating a pre-match pasta sandwich before every game certainly paid off with the Blues sealing a 1-0 victory.
And Kerr became the first player to score in three successive FA Cup finals
The Australia ace’s lethal finish, in front of a record crowd of 77, 390 – and Prince William, saw the Blues lift the trophy for a third successive year after being under the cosh early on in the duel.
And it boosts their hopes of sealing a domestic double ahead of a mammoth London derby duel with Arsenal next Sunday.
Last Sunday Emma Hayes chided her side’s slow start against Everton before they hammered the Toffees 7-0.
And they were almost caught cold with United, making their first FA Cup final appearance, flying out the traps with a goal 23 seconds in the game.
However Leah Galton’s finish was chalked off with the forward flagged as offside.
Buoyed by that start, Marc Skinner’s side flew up the field minutes after with Ella Toone leading a counter.
And Ann-Katrin Berger almost ran into trouble when she punched a cross into Alessia Russo’s path before the ball bounced off Nikita Parris for a goal kick.
A pause in play with Melanie Leupolz needing treatment in the ninth minute gave Hayes’ side a chance to the regroup
However it led to much of the first spell losing its zest before Lauren James’ header prompted a classy save from Mary Earps and Galton blazing over shortly after.
VAR came into action for the first time in the contest’s history after Niamh Charles’ foul on Nikita Parris near the box.
But the challenge was penalised with a free-kick much to Parris’ dismay with the challenge occurring outside the penalty area.
Hayes rang the changes in the second half with Pernille Harder coming on for Jessie Fleming.
And the Denmark ace fired in a low cross for Kerr to bury the goal that secured a fourth successive FA Cup final win for her side.