Ella Toon scored a hat-trick on her return to WSL action as Manchester United punished some sloppy mistakes from Manchester City’s women to win 4-2 in the Manchester derby.
Toon missed games in November and December with a calf injury and continued his goalscoring comeback at the Etihad Stadium with a remarkable hat-trick.
“I’ve been through a lot and when I got injured it was a blessing in disguise,” Toon told Sky Sports after the game.
“Looking back now, I needed it not only physically, but also mentally. I used my time wisely to come back stronger and better, but more importantly to take care of myself.
“I told the girls. “Girls, I’ve never scored in a Manchester derby, I’ve never scored against City, and for a girl who supports Manchester United, I know what these derbies mean. I want to be in every game. to do something on the field and take turns for the girls.
“But today I wanted to score and I managed to score three, so it was a special day for me and I couldn’t have done it without the players and the staff.”
Manchester United were the sharper side from the start and Toune opened the scoring in the 14th minute when Elizabeth Thurland miscued her shot to head home. Leah Galton (21) then doubled the lead shortly after turning home from distance as Manchester City failed to clear the corner.
Gareth Taylor’s side continued to struggle when a weak pass from the back, which came seconds after Thurland almost scored, allowed Tooney to score his second (36).
But the recovery seemed to have begun late in the first half as Manchester City hit back to make it 3-2, with Vivian Miedma (40) – herself back in the league from injury – heading in Mary Fowler’s cross before Rebecca Knaak (45+3) scored her first WSL goal since joining the club a few weeks ago.
However, 10 seconds after the restart, Keating allowed Toon to complete his hat-trick.
For all their mistakes, Manchester City dominated the shots and chances in the second half, but some inspired moments from Phallon Tullis-Joyce held them back from making a real comeback.
It’s Manchester United’s first away win in the Manchester derby and moves them above Manchester City to third in the WSL table.Taylor’s side, who have now lost back-to-back games in the WSL, have dropped to fourth in the Champions League. from places.
Analysis: Error-ridden Man City have no Plan B
Sky Sports’ Laura Hunter.
Is this the moment Manchester United enter the title race?A win in the derby will all but end City’s hopes of a second WSL crown.
Gareth Taylor’s side started the day second and finished fourth.The number of mistakes they made were completely unremarkable, but just as much a reflection of Manchester United’s brash approach.
Fortune favors the brave.
They pressed high from the first minute, forcing errors and capitalizing on every slip City made.
Mark Skinner’s side suffocated the hosts and yet it was City who enjoyed 74 per cent of the ball.The fact that United scored four goals while being so stingy with the ball made the result all the more remarkable.
All too often, City rely on their ability to beat the opposition into submission, and in the absence of any Plan B, have been defeated by a more economical game plan.
Praise to the House. He is an inspiration
Manchester United scorer Ella Tun to: Sky Sports.
“We’re speechless too. It’s a derby, so it means a lot. We made a huge move and I think we deserved it.
“We do well. Sometimes people write us off, but we know what kind of team we have. We have the attitude, we have the work rate and we give it our all every time we step on the pitch get from playing together.”
Manchester United goalkeeper Fallon Tullis-Joyce to: Sky Sports:
“We’ve got a really tough team and women that are ready to just take it out and that’s what we saw today, especially Tuni.
“He was just an absolute inspiration. Seeing him on the sidelines, he was the first one on the field and the last one to leave. He’s earned every second of this moment with how hard he’s worked to come back.”
Manchester United manager Mark Skinner to: Sky Sports:
“Sometimes it can send you a message from above. The reality is that Ella has played a hell of a lot of football in the last two or three years and has had a lot of experience. For me, we need a Tooney who loves football. We need a player like that for England and Manchester United.
“I asked him at the end of the game if he liked it and he said yes. I’ll take that and the three points because it’s about Manchester United people.”
Taylor: We misunderstood
Man City boss Gareth Taylor to: Sky Sports:
“Our build-up is usually a really strong part of our game. It’s the way I like to play because it allows us to play as a team, but we made a few mistakes tonight.
“The goals we scored took away the momentum. We did quite well in the box, but we gave away too many chances.
“They were easy goals. Sometimes when you play like that, when you make a decision, it’s disappointing. The fourth one was difficult to accept because it’s a situation we don’t need.”
Speaking of which Chiara Keating’s streak of mistakes“It’s difficult for him, he’s a young goalkeeper, but he’s really good for us. It’s not the first time it happened last season, and all goalkeepers go through that. What we want to see is strength of character : to return.”
Skinner: We made Man City make mistakes
Manchester United manager Mark Skinner to: Sky Sports:
“My pleasure comes from the team enjoying their football and we gave a really good account of ourselves. I know we will talk about the mistakes Manchester City made, but we made them make mistakes.
“We’ve been criticized a bit this season where we’ve been a bit passive, but tonight we were just right, we’ll go after Manchester City. We forced the mistakes and got our rewards tonight.
“I’ve been here before. We won games at the Emirates and our team is new and young. Tonight is a great learning curve for them.
“I think lack of experience overcomes personality and fearlessness. I felt like we had that in abundance tonight.
“It’s a big win for our whole club. We’re going to push on to play them again (in the League Cup) on Wednesday, which will be exciting.
“We are going to rest, recover and be ready to play another game against them.