Manchester United qualify for FA Cup fifth round with narrow victory at Sunderland | OneFootball

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·29 January 2023

Manchester United qualify for FA Cup fifth round with narrow victory at Sunderland

Article image:Manchester United qualify for FA Cup fifth round with narrow victory at Sunderland

Manchester United have qualified for the fifth round of this season’s Vitality Women’s FA Cup with a 2-1 victory over Sunderland at The Eppleton Colliery Welfare Ground this afternoon.

Nikita Parris got both of Manchester United’s goals as they battled to victory in front of a crowd of 1,810, a record for a Sunderland women’s team fixture.

As you would expect, the Barclays Women’s Super League side dominated the attacking play in the first half. The Red Devils went close twice in quick succession early on with Rachel Williams seeing a shot blocked by Sunderland keeper Claudia Moan and Martha Thomas heading over following a cross from the left.


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Ona Batlle saw a header cleared off the line before Ella Toone had an effort blocked from the rebound. Another goalmouth scramble then saw Martha Thomas’ shot hacked off the line before Katie Zelem rattled the post. The midfielder then went close again when she drilled a low effort narrowly wide across goal.

A Manchester United goal didn’t seem far away and Marc Skinner’s side broke the deadlock six minutes before the break. A cross from the right found the boot of Parris and the England international flicked the ball home from a couple of yards.

The second half saw the visitors continue to push hard for further goals but they were struggling to severely test Moan in the Sunderland goal. Zelem saw a looping delivery gathered by Moan while Thomas stuck a leg out to meet a low cross but the ball fell straight at the keeper’s feet.

Manchester United looked to be edging their way into the fifth round draw but Sunderland then went and netted a surprise equaliser. A corner found the head of Abby Holmes who looped the ball into the roof of the visitors’ net.

The Red Devils’ response was immediate. Substitute Estelle Cascarino saw an effort blocked by Moan before Parris drilled a shot into the roof of the Sunderland net moments later to make it 2-1.

The final 20 minutes of game were very much played out in an end-to-end fashion. Sunderland gave a real good account of themselves as they pushed bodies forward while Manchester United were wasteful with a couple of half-chances at the other end. In the end, it was the Barclays Women’s Super League club who held on to take another step towards Wembley and that first domestic cup final appearance.

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