Ella Toone scored a hat-trick on her return to WSL action as Manchester United Ladies punished Manchester Metropolis Ladies’ sloppy mistakes by winning 4-2 in a vibrant Manchester derby.
Toone missed games in November and December with a calf injury, and continued his scoring recovery with a notable hat-trick at the Etihad Stadium.
“I’ve been through a lot and when I got injured, it was a blessing in disguise,” Toone told Sky Sports after the game.
“Looking back now, I needed it, not only physically but also mentally. I have used my time wisely to get back fitter and stronger, but most importantly, take care of myself.
“I was letting the girls know: ‘Girls, I’ve never scored in a Manchester derby, I’ve never scored against Metropolis’, and for a girl who supports Manchester United, I know what these derbies mean. I want to be in every game. make something happen on the field and make a shift for the girls.
“But today I wanted a goal and I managed to score three, so it’s a special day for me and I couldn’t have achieved it without the players and the staff.”
Man Utd were more precise from the start and Toone scored her first goal in the 14th minute. Elisabeth Terland missed her shot, but the English midfielder was on the lookout to finish. Leah Galton (21) then doubled the lead soon after, turning from close range when Man Metropolis failed to clear a corner.
Gareth Taylor’s team continued to fight, with a poorly placed pass from behind, seconds after another had seen Terland almost score, allowing Toone to score his second (36th). She latched on to a loose pass before simply beating England teammate Khiara Keating.
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Ella Toone scored her second goal of the game after some sloppy play by Manchester Metropolis.
But it looked like the comeback had begun at the end of the first half when Man Metropolis scored twice to bring the score to 3-2. Vivianne Miedema (40), who returns to the league after injury, nodded after a cross from Mary Fowler, before Rebecca Knaak (45+3) scored her first WSL goal since joining the club ago. a few weeks
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Vivianne Miedema headed Mary Fowler’s cross beyond Phallon Tullis-Joyce
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Rebecca Knaak got ahead of the two Manchester United players and headed into the far corner.
However, 10 seconds after the restart, another forgettable moment for Keating allowed Toone to complete his hat-trick. The goalkeeper lingered too long on the ball from the kick-off, with a deflection landing in the path of Toone. He won the foot race against Keating and entered an open grid.
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Ella Toone completed her hat-trick in the Manchester derby from the start of the second half
For all their mistakes on one end, Man Metropolis piled up shots and chances in a dominant second half. However, some inspired moments from Phallon Tullis-Joyce prevented them from mounting a true comeback.
It is Man Utd’s first away win in the Manchester derby and moves them above Man Metropolis into third place in the WSL table. Taylor’s team, which has now lost consecutive matches in the WSL, drops to fourth place, two points off the Champions League places.
Analysis: Bug-riddled Manchester Metropolis lacks Plan B
Sky Sports Laura Hunter Activities:
Is this the moment Manchester United enter the title race? A spectacular derby victory that all but ended Metropolis’ hopes of a second WSL crown will have made it even sweeter.
Gareth Taylor’s team started the day second and finished fourth. The numerous errors they made were completely out of character, but they still reflected Man United’s brazen approach.
Fortune favors the brave.
They pressed high from the first minute, forcing errors and capitalizing on every mistake by Metropolis.
Marc Skinner’s team suffocated their hosts and yet it was Metropolis who enjoyed 74 percent of the ball. The fact that United scored four goals with such a low percentage of possession makes the result even more remarkable.
Too often, Metropolis has relied on its ability to dominate its opponents by subduing them and, in the absence of a Plan B, been defeated by the smarter game plan.
Praise for Toone: she is an inspiration
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Ella Toone and Phallon Tullis-Joyce reflect on Man Utd’s victory over Man Metropolis at the Etihad as Toone takes home a hat-trick
manchester united scorer Ella Toone to Air sports:
“We were also left speechless. It’s a derby, so it means a lot. We made a great change and a great performance. “I think we deserved it.”
“We are doing well. Sometimes people write us off, but we know what team we have. We have personality, we have attitude, we have a work rate and we give our all every time we step on the field and we enjoy playing together.”
manchester united goalie Phallon Tullis-Joyce to sky sports:
“We have a really brave team and women who are ready to push themselves and that’s what we saw today for sure, especially Toonie.
“She has been an absolute inspiration. Watching her from the side, she was the first to arrive at the training ground and the last to leave. “He has earned every second of this moment because of how hard he worked to come back.”
manchester united manager Mark Skinner to sky sports:
“Sometimes they can send you a message that comes from above. The reality is that Ella has played a lot of soccer in the last two or three years and has grown and had a lot of experiences. “For me, we need a Toonie who loves football.” “We need a player like that for England and Manchester United.
“At the end of the game, I asked him if he enjoyed it and he said yes. “I will take it away, apart from the three points, because it is all about the people at Manchester United.”
Taylor: We were wrong.
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Manchester Metropolis manager Gareth Taylor reflects on the Manchester derby defeat and says his team made a mistake tonight and gave away easy goals against their rivals.
city man boss Gareth Taylor to sky sports:
“Our build-up play is usually a very strong part of our game. It’s the way I like to play, because it allows us to go as a team, but tonight we made mistakes on several occasions.
“The goals we conceded killed the momentum. Between the areas we were quite good, but we gave away too many opportunities.
“They were easy goals. Sometimes when you play like that, when the decision making is wrong, it’s frustrating to reveal what we did that way. The fourth was difficult to take because it is a situation that we do not need to be in.” in.”
talking about Khiara Keating’s series of mistakesHe added: “It is difficult for her, she is a young goalkeeper, but she has been very 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 a strength of character.” to return.”
Skinner: We made Man Metropolis make mistakes
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Manchester United manager Marc Skinner says his team forced mistakes from Manchester Metropolis, leading to victory at the Etihad.
manchester united manager Mark Skinner to sky sports:
“My enjoyment comes from the fact that the team enjoys its football and we gave a very good account of ourselves. I know we will talk about the mistakes Manchester Metropolis have made, but we made them make the mistakes.
“We’ve had some criticism in the biggest games this season, where we’ve been a bit passive, but tonight we said ‘okay, we’ll go after Manchester Metropolis’. We forced mistakes and got Our rewards tonight.
“I’ve been here before. Two seasons ago, we won at the Emirates. We bring the games to the teams and our team is new and young again. They had to learn these great scenic environments. Tonight is a big learning curve. for them.
“I think what overcomes lack of experience is personality and courage. I felt like we had that in abundance tonight.
“It is a great victory for our entire club. “We are going to move forward to play them again on Wednesday.” (in the League Cup) which is going to be interesting.
“We are going to rest, recover and be ready to put in another performance against them.”
