In a week where ‘Skinner out’ chants were reportedly shut down and then subsequently defended by Marc Skinner himself, the last thing the Manchester United manager needed was to lose to a team two divisions below, albeit against a side high on confidence.
Newcastle have been flying at the top of the northern third division. Since the takeover two years ago, the women’s team have turned fully professional and they now have their sights set on a rapid rise to the WSL and their numbers show they mean business.
In 2023, they were undefeated. In their last three league matches alone they have won by an aggregate of 23-3.
And credit to Becky Langley’s side who started the match well, pressing energetically and almost forcing an uncharacteristic error from Mary Earps.
But it was Ella Toone, looking more like a vigilante than a football player, who was the first to step up to save United’s blushes.
Ella Toone (middle) opened the scoring as Manchester United beat Newcastle 5-0 in the fourth round of the Women’s FA Cup
Nikita Parris scored twice as United booked their spot in the fifth round of the FA Cup
Newcastle have been flying at the top of the northern third division but they were no match for United on Sunday afternoon
‘Come on girls’ she yelled at her team after that near-wobble and it was the masked No 7 who broke the deadlock in the 28th minute, curling the ball into the top-left corner from the edge of the penalty area with her left foot.
Toone’s opener appeared to suck the life out of the visitors and as the Manchester rain lashed down on a near-freezing Leigh Sports Village, United turned up the heat. A brace for Nikita Parris and a goal apiece for Rachel Williams and Melvine Malard took the final score to 5-0.
The Reds have endured a rocky form in the league this season, primarily due to the movement of players upsetting last season’s well-established balance.
But as many teams have come to know and love, the FA Cup provides a clean slate and today’s decisive win will give them the confidence to kick on and take it all the way.
They were unfortunate to lose in the final to Chelsea at Wembley last term and they will be hoping that they can make up for that defeat.
‘We were in the final last year and we want to try and go one stage better,’ said Skinner after the match.
‘It was a professional performance [from United]. I loved the rivalry of the fans.
‘We could only win. Regardless of the score.
We could only win, that’s what we’re here to do but seeing those two sets of passionate fans was a highlight of a career so far. It made it different.’
‘I don’t think it will be long before they’re in the WSL, I really don’t. They were fit, at us. They dropped off towards the end because of the way that we played, but I felt they were right in the game.’
For the Newcastle fans with their ‘Howay the lasses’ flags who turned out in their numbers, today wasn’t to be.
In a match which was described beforehand as ‘the most exciting in the club’s history’, they couldn’t cause the upset they hoped for.
But as the team proudly took their team photo in front of their supporters after the final whistle, their was a sense that this was only the beginning for this up-and-coming side.
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