Manchester United outperformed their rivals from across town for their well-earned 2-1 derby win on Sunday. Hayley Ladd gave the home side the early lead and kept the City attacks to a minimum in the first half. Filippa Angeldahl equalised deep into the second half but last-minute drama saw Lucia Garcia fire the ball into the back of the net to clinch the winner in stoppage time.
“This one's for the fans tonight,” said manager Marc Skinner, gesturing to the stands. “They deserve it. They’ve been here all season and their noise tonight was incredible.”
There was a palpable energy around Leigh Sports Village, as a record-breaking crowd of 7,864 fans made themselves known.
“The fans tonight, it felt amazing," Skinner added. "I walked around [the pitch] for the first time and allowed myself a second to just listen and feel the energy around the stadium. It's the best.
“I don't usually let my guard down in my emotions but tonight was special and if we can keep producing that and give them European nights we will be at the forefront of the women's game for years to come.”
The fans' roar urged Garcia to capitalise on a loose ball from close range to send United back into the lead.
He continued: “It's the first time we’ve painted Manchester red so for us to beat Manchester City in front of all these fans... I think we have something special here which is a belief that we can win the game at any point.
“Me and [City manager] Gareth [Taylor] have a good relationship, he's a good guy and they were good tonight but we were better and they didn’t take their chances. I have utmost respect for what they do but I asked my team to be a little more disrespectful in the bigger games. Don't respect them too much, we don't have to.”
The win over City keeps United in the title race against Chelsea, which will now go down to the final game of the season. Chelsea are two points ahead and face Reading at the same time as United travel to Liverpool.
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