Toone hat-trick give Man United women derby victory in WSL as they beat Manchester City 4-2 away from home.
Toone hat-trick gives Manchester United women a huge 4-2 win over neighbors Man City.
In a derby that was characterised by a clumsy performance from the youthful City goalkeeper Khiara Keating, Ella Toone scored a hat-trick as Manchester United won their first game at Manchester City.
Gareth Taylor, the head coach of City, stated: “We win, lose, and draw together as a team,” refusing to place the burden on the 20-year-old. The athletes in front of her must perform their duties. Keating and the rest of Taylor’s back four, however, had a memorable evening as they lost the league for the second time in a row after frequently failing to pass the ball out from the back.
Many of the key players from both teams were absent from this derby due to injury: the hosts were without their regular captain, Alex Greenwood, their leading scorer, Khadija Shaw, and her fellow England international, Lauren Hemp. When Geyse of Manchester United was absent due to a family tragedy, her teammates held up her shirt in front of their supporters as they sang her name in celebration of their win.
However, none of City’s injuries could justify their haphazard first-half defence, with Keating in particular suffering a torturous first forty-five minutes. If Elisabeth Terland had brought her shooting boots to the Etihad, the visitors might have been out of sight early on due to the tremendous pressure being applied by United’s high-pressing frontline.
Even amid his joy at full time, United’s manager, Marc Skinner, complained that his side “should have been at least five or six [up] in the first half”.
The contest was already far tighter than it needed to be. After Hinata Miyazawa skilfully set up Toone for her first Manchester derby goal, United took the lead. Leah Galton then bundled in the second from a corner despite a suspicion of offside. Things were becoming humiliating for City as Toone took advantage of another sloppy Keating pass to make it 3-0. A spectacular comeback seemed imminent, though, as their fit-again forward Vivianne Miedema headed in Mary Fowler’s cross in the 40th minute and the defender Rebecca Knaak headed in her first goal in first-half stoppage time from Fowler’s corner.
However, ten seconds after the restart, City was reconsidering their plans if they had hoped that the second goal would give them a boost moving into the second half due to another disastrous error by Keating.
Terland charged down the goalie’s pass after receiving it right from kickoff, and the ball tumbled into Toone’s path, allowing the young United supporter to complete a hat-trick in front of the exuberant away fans. ”We all know what she’s been through and what’s more important right now is that Ella Toone for Manchester United and England enjoys football,” Skinner added, alluding to Toone’s calf injury that had kept her out of action since November and the death of her father in September.
“That’s really important. She put a great shift in. I just want her to love football again and she’s in a really good space to do that.”