Report: United Women 3 Sunderland 1

The trophy-holders went ahead against our Championship opponents after seven minutes, when Leah Galton headed us into the lead, before Maya Le Tissier doubled that advantage in first-half stoppage time.

Despite having the majority of the ball after the break, further clear-cut chances were limited and Louise Griffiths set up a tense finish when she pulled one back for the visitors with just over 20 minutes left to play.

The contest looked to be meandering towards a 2-1 finish, but Ella Toone made sure of the victory - and our place in Sunday's semi-final draw - with United's third goal in second-half stoppage time.

FIRST HALF - REDS HEAD INTO TWO-GOAL LEAD

United Women were straight onto the front foot and set about giving the lively crowd inside Leigh Sports Village something to cheer about early on. The majority of the play in the opening stages came in Sunderland's half, with Celin Bizet registering our first shot, slicing an attempt wide from the edge of the visitors' 18-yard area.

Bizet took up a central area on that occasion but it was from a more familiar right-sided position that our Norwegian winger teed up the opening goal. Our no.15 showed patience to eek out a yard of space on her defender and deliver into the penalty area, where Galton stooped to head back across the target and into the far corner.

In the celebrations, the Reds paid a touching tribute to 10-year-old United fan Poppy Atkinson who was tragically killed when she was struck by a car earlier this week, with Toone holding aloft a shirt with Atkinson's name on it before the Leigh crowd applauded in the 10th minute, in memory of the youngster.

Despite going behind early in the contest, our second-tier opponents retained their composure and organisation, before being rewarded some chances of their own. Brianna Westrup headed off target after United failed to properly clear a Sunderland corner, minutes before Keira Flannery powered a low drive wide from range.

Those openings will have given Melanie Reay's side confidence, but the Reds were setting about making the scoreline more comfortable than the narrow 2-1 win that we were able to come away with from our first and only previous meeting with Sunderland in 2023. Melvine Malard struck the crossbar with a first-time connection on a Galton ball in from the left, Toone saw a strike blocked at close quarters and Le Tissier blasted over as the North East outfit kept the advantage down to one.

Skinner's side kept the pressure on however, and were mightily close again when the scorer and assister of our first goal linked up once more before the break. This time it was Galton crossing for Bizet who, from underneath the crossbar, couldn't keep her volley down and so rued cushioning it over the woodwork.

It looked, then, as if the Reds would just have a one-goal lead to take into the break, but captain Le Tissier ensured that it would be 2-0 at the interval, when she met Gabby George's flat corner from the left and headed home inside four minutes of added time.

SECOND HALF - UNITED SECURE PROGRESSION

That second goal was a welcome boost entering the interval, but United were by no means comfortable and were reminded that the contest was well and truly alive when half-time Sunderland substitute Jenna Dear struck a shot just over the bar, after a corner broke to her on the edge of our penalty area.

While the visitors were the ones needing to score, they were doing a good job of limiting United's opportunities to add to the scoreline at the other end. Rachel Williams's stabbed effort at goal, which was deflected behind, was as close as we came to getting another before our opponents halved the deficit.

Reay's introductions from the bench were having an impact and it was two subs that combined to force a route back into the game. Katy Watson looked to find Griffiths in the box and, while it looked as though Le Tissier had snuffed out the danger by getting to the ball first, our no.4's intended clearance cannoned back off Griffiths and flew past Phallon Tullis-Joyce into the net.

It meant it was game on heading into the final 20 minutes, with a tense atmosphere palpable around LSV, but Williams almost instantly eased any nerves the home crowd may have had. The striker got on the end of Anna Sandberg's inviting cross from the left and saw her header well saved by Demi Lambourne, who wasn't troubled by Bizet's follow-up from a tight angle.

Williams was continuing to make her presence felt after being introduced earlier in the half, leading United's push for a third goal that would make the result safe, but saw her latest aerial attempt - following a corner from the right - fly over as the encounter entered its final 10 minutes.

The contest's next and last goal didn't arrive until added time however, as Toone all but made sure of our place in the semi-finals when she headed Bizet's cross from the right back past Lambourne and into the net, despite Westrup's best attempt at clearing it on the line.

Referee Stacey Fullicks sounded her full-time whistle soon after, confirming the continuation of our trophy defence, with passage to next month's last-four stage.

MATCH DETAILS 

United: Tullis-Joyce; Mannion, Le Tissier (c), Turner (Janssen 62), George (Sandberg 62); Clinton, Miyazawa, Toone; Bizet, Malard (Williams 62), Galton.

Unused subs: Middleton-Patel, Hill, Livingston, Naalsund, M.Griffiths.

Booked: Galton.

Goals: Galton 7, Le Tissier 45+2, Toone 90+1.

Sunderland: Lambourne; Beer (L.Griffiths 46), Goddard, Stapleton, Westrup (c), Corbyn; Fenton, Flannery; Kitching (Jones 62), Scarr (Watson 61), McInnes (Dear 46).

Unused subs: Borthwick, Ede, West, Cassap.

Booked: Fenton.

Goal: L.Griffiths 70.