'Let's make it nine points from nine'

The Reds dominated from the off and particularly in the first half, when an own goal from Toffees defender Danielle Turner and Martha Thomas’s smart finish settled the tie.

It was United’s second win within the space of four days and was enough to secure a spot in the competition’s quarter-finals – although whether that’s as Group B winners or the best second-placed team is yet to be decided, after Manchester City’s game with Leicester was postponed.

“I’m really pleased,” Marc said after the final whistle.

“I thought we were excellent first half, really sharp, really aggressive. We took the game to Everton and really swamped them. Then second half we saw the game out.

“We made changes, which was great and the players that came in were excellent as well as the players that went off.

“So a real team performance, a real together performance and what we asked for them in these three games was to give as much as they can in every game. They’ve done that tonight and we were excellent.”

Now Skinner is looking for another three points to close out the year when we host Aston Villa in the WSL on Sunday.

The Reds are fifth in the table, level with Brighton on 15 points and we could potentially be sitting third at new year, should results go our way this weekend.

“That’s what we’re going to try to do. We’ve got to give everything,” he added.

“We’ve got to perform, we’ve got to have high energy, high commitment and show our fans just how wonderful they’ve been all year and always have been.

“We need to continue to give them that love and support and that energy through our performances and that’s what our players will do and that’s what we’re going to ask of them.”

Skinner gave minutes to his substitutes during a controlled second half, with goalscorer Thomas one of the players awarded a rest.

Our summer signing was making her first start for a month and led the line superbly during the first half, combining well with Katie Zelem for the goal and also hitting the crossbar.

“Yeah, I’m really pleased,” Martha said. “As a no.9 it’s obviously nice to get on the scoresheet but at the end of the day the biggest thing was three points so we're thrilled.

“Obviously it’s a big week so squad rotation is really big but I’m just happy I can contribute. 45 minutes is good for me, so I’m really pleased.

“We’ve had a few disappointing results conceding late on, so to get two clean sheets in a row is really important. Nine points [from the week] is definitely the goal and we can finish that off on Sunday.”

Tickets for Sunday's meeting with Villa at Leigh Sports Village are available here.