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Football: Kerr strikes as Chelsea win record-breaking Women's FA Cup final

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Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Chelsea celebrates winning the Women" s="" FA="" Cup="" final="" soccer="" match="" between="" Chelsea="" Women="" FC="" and="" Manchester="" United="" WFC="" in="" May="" Vince="" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/sports/05/14/20230514-football.jpg"/><figcaption>Chelsea celebrates winning the Women&#x27;s FA Cup final soccer match between Chelsea Women FC and Manchester United WFC in London, Britiain, May 14, 2023. Vince Mignott, EPA-EFE.</figcaption></figure></div>LONDON -- Sam Kerr&#x27;s second-half goal proved the difference as Chelsea beat Manchester United 1-0 to win a third successive English Women&#x27;s FA Cup final before a record-breaking crowd at Wembley on Sunday.But it needed a desperate block from Chelsea goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger in the seventh minute of added-on time to deny United an equalizer in front of 77,390 spectators -- a world-record attendance for a domestic women&#x27;s football match.Chelsea manager Emma Hayes&#x27;s decision to bring on Pernille Harder, who has been injured for much of the season, just before the hour proved a turning point in a match where United had the better of the early exchanges.&quot;I think it&#x27;s the sign of a great team, we didn&#x27;t have our best game but we pushed through,&quot; Australia striker Kerr told the BBC.<div>- Wembley &#x27;home&#x27; for Chelsea&#x27; -</div>Hayes said her team&#x27;s experience of big-match occasions at Wembley had served them well.&quot;We&#x27;ve played here more times than Stamford Bridge. Yes it&#x27;s home.&quot;Hayes added: &quot;We know how to stay in a game and even if we weren&#x27;t at our best we have to work out how to change it.&quot;It took United, in their first women&#x27;s FA Cup final, just 20 seconds after kick-off to put the ball into the Chelsea net only for the goal to be disallowed for offside.Chelsea, the reigning English women&#x27;s Super League champions, failed to clear Ella Toone&#x27;s cross from the right and Leah Galton swept the ball in.But the flag had gone up, with VAR confirming Toone had moved a fraction too early.United, who only established a women&#x27;s team in 2018, dominated the first half.They almost broke the deadlock just after the half-hour when Millie Turner&#x27;s deflected effort was well saved by Berger.United went close again when Galton poked the ball over from six yards out from an Alessia Russo cross.But three minutes before half-time, Chelsea almost punished United&#x27;s failure to take their chances when Lauren James&#x27;s looping header was brilliantly clawed away one-handed by United goalkeeper Mary Earps, one of the heroines of England&#x27;s European Championship final-winning team at Wembley last year.Goalless at the interval, the match turned in Chelsea&#x27;s favor soon after Harder came on.Maya Le Tissier failed to deal with a long ball and Kerr raced on to it down the left wing.The ensuing cross found Harder, but her first touch saw the ball trapped under her foot, and a weak shot proved no problem for Earps.Harder, however, was instrumental in Chelsea going 1-0 up in the 68th minute when her excellent low cross from out on the right found Kerr, who didn&#x27;t have to break stride as she turned the ball in at the back post.Kerr&#x27;s goal meant the forward, who celebrated with her trademark back flip, had scored in three consecutive FA Cup finals.&quot;Sam Kerr is priceless but let&#x27;s credit Pernille,&quot; said Hayes.&quot;We know we needed more stretching runs,&quot; added the Blues boss, who has now won 12 major trophies since taking charge of Chelsea in 2012.United almost made it 1-1 in the very closing stages when Berger flapped at a cross, only to block Galton&#x27;s shot before Chelsea cleared the danger to stay on course for another league and cup &#x27;double&#x27;.Afterwards, rueful United manager Marc Skinner said: &quot;Chelsea have done hardly anything in the game, but they are winners for a reason, they find that tiny little gap.&quot;He added: &quot;We won&#x27;t dwell on this, it fuels us. We watch this (Chelsea&#x27;s celebrations), this will be us in future.&quot;© Agence France-Presse

Chelsea beat Manchester United 1-0 to win a third successive English Women's FA Cup final before a record-breaking crowd at Wembley.