Chelsea FC Women have done what the men’s side couldn’t do yesterday—win the FA Cup Final. The 2022 FA Women’s Super League champions faced Manchester City in front of a record crowd at Wembley Stadium. A deflected goal from Sam Kerr ended up securing the win for Chelsea in extra time. Here is a breakdown of the action that took place during the match.
First Half
Manchester City started off hot with a couple of chances from Caroline Weir and Lauren Hemp within the first few minutes of the match. Chelsea eventually found their groove and Kerr found the back of the net in the 18th minute. The goal was disallowed because Kerr was offside, but Chelsea continued to gain momentum through most of the first half. In the 33rd minute, Millie Bright put a cannon of a cross into the box and Kerr headed the ball in for Chelsea’s first goal of the match.
Chelsea in front at Wembley! 🔵@samkerr1 with the slightest of touches!#WomensFACupFinal @ChelseaFCW pic.twitter.com/SV13hPt3Ox
— Vitality Women's FA Cup (@VitalityWFACup) May 15, 2022
Manchester City equalized in the 42nd minute when Hemp cut into the box and curled a shot into the far corner of the goal.
HEMPO that was MAGIC ✨
— Vitality Women's FA Cup (@VitalityWFACup) May 15, 2022
What a finish from the @ManCityWomen winger#WomensFACupFinal pic.twitter.com/WLCRf9x4VD
Second Half
Manchester City started off strong again with a couple more chances from Hemp. However, their attempts of keeping the score even fell flat in the 63rd minute, when Erin Cuthbert gave Chelsea the lead again with a worldie goal from right outside the box.
That is an absolute beauty 😱@erincuthbert_ take a bow, that’s some strike! #WomensFACupFinal @ChelseaFCW pic.twitter.com/hQ0GfdwHTG
— Vitality Women's FA Cup (@VitalityWFACup) May 15, 2022
It seemed that Chelsea had secured their third FA Cup final win in five years, but Hayley Raso kept Manchester City’s FA Cup hopes alive by equalizing in the 89th minute. A perfect pass from Alex Greenwood found Raso, who quickly controlled the ball, took out defender Magdalena Eriksson and found the back of the net to take the game into extra time.
That touch and finish from @HayleyRaso 🔥
— Vitality Women's FA Cup (@VitalityWFACup) May 15, 2022
City are level in the dying minutes! 😱#WomensFACupFinal pic.twitter.com/k6UbkSeGWn
Extra Time
Like both halves of regulation time, Manchester City was aggressive from the start and had some good chances of taking the lead, but some clutch defending from Chelsea kept them from scoring. In the 99th minute, Kerr’s shot deflected off of Manchester City defender Alex Greenwood and into the net.
Chelsea have the advantage! 👀@samkerr1’s deflected shot fires past Roebuck in the City net!#WomensFACupFinal @ChelseaFCW pic.twitter.com/GfKq0N4w8e
— Vitality Women's FA Cup (@VitalityWFACup) May 15, 2022
Manchester City’s attempts to rally weren’t enough and Chelsea went on to win their second consecutive FA Cup.
Record Crowd in Attendance
Forty-nine thousand forty-nine people were in attendance for the match, a new attendance record for the FA Cup final. This comes shortly after FC Barcelona set a new attendance record for women’s soccer matches and broke that record again a few weeks later. It appears that women’s soccer is growing more popular worldwide, so here’s hoping that trend continues.
For more women’s sports content, check out Beyond Women’s Sports.
