Goalkeeping is a precarious career where someone is more likely to be remembered for mistakes than successes as Karima Taieb found out as her two errors, among a litany of saves, set Chelsea on their way to the Women’s FA Cup final at Manchester City’s expense.
The game was effectively settled in five first-half minutes as first Erin Cuthbert thrashed the ball through Taieb’s hands, before Melanie Leupolz did much the same but in a tamer fashion to leave the goalkeeper crestfallen as City’s hopes of a third successive FA Cup triumph were dashed. Beth England put the result beyond doubt late on.
“I just wanted to win the game,” the Chelsea manager, Emma Hayes, said. “We haven’t won a game up here in 90 minutes before. I just wanted to get that off our back and I think we did that convincingly. I thought the players that started the game did the job we needed them to do and the players who came off the bench were fantastic. I thought it was a team who once again showed their manager they want to keep improving.”
Victory takes Chelsea back to the FA Cup final for the first time since 2018, giving Hayes the opportunity to win the trophy for a third time. “I am delighted to be there. It’s the one day of the week I’ve just got to go down the road to a football stadium. It just happens to be the biggest and the home of national football, and as a kid I always wanted to be there as a fan. I never thought I’d do it as a coach but I’ve been there a few times now. I just want to go and win.”
City began brightly as they looked to forget about their Women’s Super League woes. There they have won once in five games but it was not to last. Cuthbert caught City napping when she collected a corner in the 23rd minute, taking a touch on her thigh before volleying it through the hands of Taieb at the near post. The shot was powerful but the goalkeeper will have been disappointed by her weak attempt to stop it.
Things did not improve for Taieb when Leupolz received the ball on the edge of the area, after two defenders failed to clear their lines effectively.
The German took a touch and hit a tame bouncing shot from 18 yards which should have been gathered by the goalkeeper but instead bobbled into the corner. City’s goalkeeping problems are well-documented with Karen Bardsley, Ellie Roebuck and Khiara Keating out injured, leaving them with the 16-year-old Grace Pilling on the bench.
Taieb was desperate to make amends for her failings; she came out quickly to prevent Sam Kerr adding to the score after she was sent through on goal by Fran Kirby. The goalkeeper made two more fine saves in quick succession as she first saw the ball thrashed off her fingertips and over from a close-range chance for Kirby, before stopping a point-blank jab from the resulting corner after some pinball in the box.
Taieb further redeemed herself after the break when Jill Scott inadvertently sent Kirby through. She laid the ball off to Cuthbert in space but her attempt to find the bottom corner was repelled by the onrushing goalkeeper to put her further in credit.
City rediscovered their vibrancy after the break but without the finishing to go with it. There were a number of efforts from distance but Ann-Katrin Berger remained relatively untroubled, leaving her happy to be neither goalkeeping hero nor villain. There was no hope of a comeback from City but even the most optimistic home supporter will have accepted the outcome when England rose to head home Jessie Fleming’s cross late on.
The result ended City’s run in the competition, having won it in the previous two seasons, leaving their manager, Gareth Taylor, to reflect on his goalkeeper’s errors. “I’ve had a quick glance and you’d expect them to be saved,” Taylor said. “It is easy from the sidelines, when you’re in that moment you don’t know if it’s come through legs, especially with the second goal. I was a bit more concerned with the first one where we switched off defensively – you cannot do that against Chelsea.”
