Toone soothes nerves as Manchester United survive scare in Women’s FA Cup | Women’s FA Cup

Manchester United’s bid to retain the Women’s FA Cup moved another step closer to Wembley as they saw off second-tier Sunderland to progress to the semi-finals despite a nervy spell in the final 20 minutes.

Having been 2-0 up and seemingly calmly heading into the last four, United conceded a bizarre goal to allow Sunderland back into the contest in the 70th minute. Louise Griffiths, on as a substitute and playing for the first time in 11 months after a knee injury, closed down the United captain, Maya Le Tissier, in the penalty area, blocked the centre-back’s clearance and the ball ricocheted straight into the bottom corner, giving the visitors late hope.

It was a rare lapse from the hosts, who have conceded six goals in 15 league games this season, and it made the finale to this otherwise fairly one-sided quarter-final feel a lot more tense than it had otherwise looked set to be. Any worried United fans need not have panicked as Ella Toone’s late header made it 3-1 to book a place in the semi-finals for a third season in a row and move them one win away from reaching a third consecutive final.

Sunderland, FA Cup finalists in 2009, were the lowest-ranked team left in the competition heading into this quarter-final weekend, and the last club standing from outside the Women’s Super League.

They are sixth in the Championship, eight points off the leaders and 19 points clear of the relegation zone, so were always heavy underdogs for this trip to face the side sitting second in the top tier and the early exchanges of this contest were certainly reflective of the two teams’ relative positions in the pyramid.

The holders sought to create space in wide areas, utilising the strengths of their wingers and they enjoyed success with that tactic throughout the first half. Their two wide players, Celin Bizet and Leah Galton, combined for the opening goal inside seven minutes when Galton stooped to head Bizet’s whipped cross into the bottom corner.

They were teaming up again when Bizet met Galton’s cross on the volley with her left foot, but the Norway international hooked her effort narrowly over the bar. Before then, the France forward Melvine Malard had struck the bar for the hosts, as they enjoyed full control of the game.

The dominance United enjoyed in the opening 45 minutes was reflected more appropriately in the scoreline just before the break. Le Tissier headed in from Gabby George’s corner from the left in the second minute of injury time, giving Sunderland a colossal task in trying to overturn such a deficit against the team with the strongest defensive record in the WSL.

United were rather wasteful in front of goal in the second half and Sunderland were rewarded for never giving up when Griffiths scored in unusual style, but the visitors rarely went close to finding an equaliser.

It was Rachel Williams who nearly scored for the hosts with her header well saved by Demi Lambourne, before the England midfielder Toone made the victory safe in stoppage time, heading in unmarked from Bizet’s cross.