Manchester City complete domestic cup double with victory over West Ham in the Women’s FA Cup Final

Manchester City were 3-0 winners against West Ham as they added the Women’s FA Cup to the League Cup they won earlier in the season.

West Ham were the underdogs but certainly didn’t show it in the first half. The Hammers frustrated Man City and had the best chance of the half when Jane Ross’ header from Erin Simon’s right-wing cross was brilliantly saved by Karen Bardsley.

After a poor first-half display, Man City came to the fore as their quality shone through. Just seven minutes after the restart, Kiera Walsh put Nick Cushing’s side in front with a strike from outside the area.

West Ham started to tire after they conceded and when their best chance of the second half came on the counter-attack, Swiss winger Alisha Lehmann could only fire straight at Bardsley after being sent through by Leanne Kiernan.

Man City continued to dominate, keeping West Ham’s keeper Anna Moorhouse busy as she made saves from Nikita Parris and Tessa Wullaert. Eventually, Man City turned their dominance into more goals. Georgia Stanway doubled Man City’s lead with nine minutes remaining as she cut inside and curled a shot into the bottom right corner.

Lauren Hemp came off the bench and scored the final goal two minutes before the end. Hemp got on the end of a long ball over the top and she fired past Moorhouse who was off her line.

West Ham were outfought in the end and the scoreline was harsh but they certainly did themselves proud and although it’s not the win they wanted, they should take heart from reaching their first FA Cup Final less than a year after they became a fully professional club.