Mary Fowler once again shone for Manchester City in the Women's FA Cup, providing a brilliant assist to open the scoring. Ultimately, Manchester City defeated Aston Villa 2-0, successfully advancing to the semi-finals and setting up a highly anticipated derby match against Manchester United.
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03-10, 2025While the Australian national team still seems to be struggling to find ways to fully unlock the potential of the gifted 22-year-old, Manchester City clearly doesn't have that problem. Fowler continues to grow into a key orchestrator and goalscorer for the team, and was once again named Player of the Match on Sunday. Her consistent performance solidifies her importance to the team's success.
In the 53rd minute, Fowler broke the deadlock with her excellent vision and precise passing. She cleverly passed the ball to Manchester City's dangerous Jamaican forward, Khadija Shaw, who received the ball and skillfully slotted it past the onrushing Villa goalkeeper. This demonstrated her ability to create scoring opportunities for her teammates.
As a nominee for the Women's Super League Player of the Month for February, Fowler also delivered a similar deadly pass earlier in the first half, which Shaw should have converted into a goal. Eventually, Manchester City secured the victory in the 72nd minute with a goal from Jess Park, ensuring the team's smooth passage to the next round. The team's overall performance reflected their determination to win the match.
Subsequently, everyone's attention focused on who Manchester City would face in the semi-finals. The draw on Sunday evening revealed that they will host defending champions Manchester United on April 13th. The other semi-final on the same day will be Chelsea against Liverpool. Chelsea defeated Crystal Palace 1-0 at home, while Liverpool stunned Arsenal 1-0, marking a major upset this weekend.
Arsenal's three Australian internationals – Steph Catley, Kyra Cooney-Cross, and Caitlin Foord – all started in what was a disastrous afternoon for the Gunners. Liverpool reached the semi-finals for the first time in eight years. Catley's shot, which went narrowly wide, was Arsenal's most threatening attack, but Liverpool secured the victory in a bizarre manner in the 78th minute: Sophie Roman Haug's shot hit the post and then rebounded off the back of the prone goalkeeper, Daphne van Domselaar, into the net for an own goal.
Australian goalkeeper Teagan Micah had to watch the team's victory from the bench, as she has lost her starting position to Rachael Laws. With the Liverpool goalkeeper becoming the second goalkeeper this year to prevent Arsenal from scoring, it won't be easy for Micah to regain her starting role. She will need to work hard to prove her worth to the team.
At Chelsea, Crystal Palace were on the back foot throughout the match, and it wasn't until Lauren James' goal in the second half that Chelsea finally secured their 25th victory in 27 games this season, maintaining their historic dream of winning the quadruple: the Women's Super League, FA Cup, League Cup, and Champions League. However, with star striker Sam Kerr sidelined due to a long-term injury, their firepower is not as potent as it was earlier in the season. This presents a challenge for Chelsea as they pursue their ambitious goals.
