Mary Fowler: Manchester City's bright light' as club reach Women's League Cup final

Manchester City Women's head coach Gareth Taylor said that Mary Fowler showed "real brilliance" by quickly adjusting her state after missing a penalty, ultimately helping the team advance to the Women's League Cup final. This match against Arsenal on the grass pitch was a rollercoaster for the Australian forward.

Fowler opened the scoring in the 26th minute with a brilliant shot that sailed past the goalkeeper and into the top right corner. However, shortly after two-time defending champions Arsenal equalized, her penalty was saved, leaving her looking dejected. But she ultimately became the hero, scoring the winning goal in the 95th minute, ensuring Manchester City avoided a second loss to the Gunners in five days.

Taylor added: "Mary was outstanding – you wouldn't have known she'd missed a penalty. Her level didn't drop at all. You could see she was really determined to help the team, and thankfully she got the goal at the end." Former Arsenal and Scotland defender Jen Beattie also believes Fowler "is key for Man City." Former England defender Anita Asante added on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra: "Mary Fowler has been consistent. She's been outstanding throughout the game. She's always demanding the ball in all situations and creating opportunities."

Taylor said he is delighted to see Fowler in such hot form recently, having scored five goals and contributed three assists in her past five Women's Super League games. It is this form, along with the excellent performance of Yui Hasegawa on the other wing, that seems to have kept Chloe Kelly out of Taylor's starting lineup, after which the England international joined Arsenal on loan. Taylor said: "I think she is capable of playing in any of the front three positions. I know she doesn't like playing as a centre-forward, but I thought she did well. When you trust Mary and she feels confident, you see the best of her."

This victory is significant for Manchester City, as they bounced back from a painful 3-4 loss to Arsenal at home in the Women's Super League on Sunday. That loss left Manchester City in fourth place, missing out on European competition qualification and trailing leaders Chelsea by 12 points. Taylor's team seemed out of the title race, and he faced increasing pressure, with another loss to Arsenal further damaging his job prospects. Prior to Thursday's win, Manchester City had been defensively poor – conceding 11 goals in their previous four games and winning only three out of seven. But Taylor was proud of his team's performance in the League Cup. "We lost to (Manchester) United in the derby (in the Women's Super League), then we beat them three days later in the quarter-finals," Taylor said. "Now we've done exactly the same thing. We did play with the fight, determination and quality that we know we have."

The last time Manchester City won a trophy was nearly three years ago, when they lifted the League Cup after beating Chelsea in the 2022 final. They will face the Blues again on March 15, but this time the league leaders are likely to pose a greater challenge. Under Sonia Bompastor, Chelsea are seven points clear at the top of the Women's Super League, and they have significantly strengthened their squad with the world-record signing of Mayra Ramirez in January, as well as Kadeisha Buchanan. However, Taylor believes his team is "more than capable" of winning at Pride Park Stadium in Derbyshire. "We're not just going there to make up the numbers, we're going there to win," he said. "We just need to get everything right on the day. I said to the players tonight, at this stage, it's not always about the performance, it's about winning, and I saw a good balance of both tonight."