And here is that report from Maryam Naz:
Check back for our full report from the Chigwell Construction Stadium.
So there we have it. Gareth Taylor’s side have rounded into form at the right time and could be on for domestic cup double after claiming the Continental Cup in March. City’s strength in depth ultimately proved too much for West Ham, who worked hard but did not have the quality to make it count in the end.
Kelly speaks!
“It’s brilliant to be back out there with the girls and to get the goal is even better. The team were brilliant today and throughout my whole injury they’ve been brilliant. The manager showed his faith in me and it’s time to repay that faith.
“The time I spent away from [the game] it’s a difficult period and so lonely, on my own in the gym each day. To get back on the pitch and get a goal is brilliant for me. you just grow in confidence once you get that goal. It’s great to be out there and I’m just loving every minute of being back on the pitch with these girls.”
Full time: West Ham 1-4 Manchester City
City are though to another Women’s FA Cup final!
Goal! West Ham 1-4 Manchester City (Hemp 92)
Hemp caps off a swift counter to grab her second of the game. City have deserved it for this second half display. West Ham just run out of steam.
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91 min: Four minutes added.
89 min: Now it is Stanway who forces Arnold into action. The West Mam stopper makes another smart save to turn away the shot from distance.
86 min: Angeldahl nearly makes it 4-1 after being slipped in by Walsh but Arnold turns the Swede’s effort on to the bar. From the resulting corner Arnold makes another smart save as Kennedy tries an overhead kick.
85 min: This game is petering out now. City very much in control, with Walsh and Bronze controlling the game.
80 min: Filippa Angeldahl comes on for City, replacing Coombs.
77 min: Svitková is found by Evans in the box and the Czech international strikes with power but it is straight at Roebuck for a routine save. West Ham have not given up but they probably needed that go in.
73 min: Another sloppy giveaway by West Ham, this time from Arnold, but Raso rushes her shot and it is no danger in the end.
71 min: Changes for both sides. Yallop is replaced by Emma Snerle for West Ham. Double change for City as Georgia Stanway and Bunny Shaw come on for Caroline Weir and Ellen White come off.
70 min: Lovely ball from Bronze, who dinks a pass into the path of substitute Hayley Raso. Flaherty comes across to make the last-ditch tackle.
Goal! West Ham 1-3 Manchester City (Hemp 67)
That could be the tie. City turn the ball over in the final third and Lauren Hemp is the beneficiary as she fires across Arnold in the West Ham goal and in off the right post. Great strike. Clinical from City.
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65 min: Classy stuff from Walsh in her own box as West Ham players converge. The midfielder step away from a couple of challenges to clear after Brynjarsdóttir’s had jinked her way into the box.
62 min: Couple of chances for West Ham and it is Lisa Evans who is causing the problems for City. Yallop is so close to an equaliser as Evans slips her in but on the stretch the winger cannot get her effort on target.
60 min: Changes afoot for City. Kelly might be about to come off but she’s looked very bright as she continues her comeback from her ACL injury.
55 min: This is a compelling watch at the moment. City making all the running but West Ham working so hard to keep the visitors at bay. You do wonder how long this pattern of play is sustainable.
54 min: Lovely outside of the boot cross from Kelly sees two City players flailing to get on the end of it but neither White nor Hemp can get a meaningful touch.
52 min: White thinks she has her second as Walsh clips in a cute ball but the striker is just beyond the last defender and the flag goes up.
49 min: West Ham continue to press when they get an opportunity and force a couple of half-openings as they win the ball in City’s half. There is a bit of a lack of quality when the home side manage a turnover so far. Encouraging signs nonetheless.
Second half: West Ham 1-2 Manchester City
46 min: City kick off the second half.
Half time: West Ham 1-2 Manchester City
City back on top as the half ends but West Ham will be pleased with their goal to get back in the game just before the break. Tie very much on in the second half.
45 min: All of a sudden West Ham look like the side from the game’s opening stages, playing with a bit more confidence and purpose. Two minutes added on.
Goal! West Ham 1-2 Manchester City (Evans 41)
West Ham are back in it! It is a great piece of play from Leon to slip in Lisa Evans behind the City back line. Coming in from the right, Evans get to the ball ahead of Roebuck and keeps her composure to slot the ball into an unguarded net.
Updated
Goal! West Ham 0-2 Manchester City (Kelly 37)
Disaster for Flaherty. The defender’s loose pass across her own 18-yard box is easily intercepted by Kelly and the City forward makes no mistake with the finish. Those are the kind of sloppy errors that West Ham just cannot afford to make when playing team’s of this quality. Real shame.
Updated
33 min: West Ham having to work very hard as City keep the ball. It feels vital they get through this period without conceding to keep their hopes of an upset alive.
29 min: Weir releases White in behind and Flaherty has to make an inch perfect tackle in the box to deny the England forward a chance to double the lead.
27 min: Hemp bursts into the box and fires a shot just over. City piling on the pressure now.
26 min: Now it looks an uphill task for West Ham. All of a sudden City look confident and the home side cannot get a sniff of the ball. City think they have a second as Bronze gets to the byline and finds White with a cross, but the assistant rules the ball had gone out of play.
Updated
Goal! West Ham 0-1 Manchester City (White 21)
Keira Walsh smashes an tracer bullet effort against the bar from all of 25 yards and White gets to the rebound first to give City the lead, a classic poachers goal.
Updated
19 mins: City are being forced to go long in the face of a high West Ham press. Lauren Hemp picks up one of these searching balls and beats a couple of West Ham defenders before Gilly Flaherty steps across to deal with the situation. It looks a bit clumsy but any shouts for a penalty are quickly dismissed.
16 min: First bit of sustained pressure from City as they pop the ball around in the final third, eventually it comes to Weir who fires a shot just past the post from the edge of the area via a deflection. West Ham deal with the corner.
13 min: Lisa Evans and Brynjarsdóttir combine a big chance for West Ham as Greenwood gives the ball away in midfield. The Icelandic international has the opportunity to shoot when the ball breaks her way but Roebuck is out quickly to close down the angle. Real let-off.
11 min: West Ham are really trying to stretch the game and get down the flanks. Ellie Roebuck has to be sharp to cut out a cross from Tameka Yallop from the left.
9 min: Dagný Brynjarsdóttir receives some treatment for a knock.
6 min: Chance for White as she strains to reach a cross from Caroline Weir on the right but the England striker cannot connect with a diving header from inside the six-yard box.
4 min: City try to bring the ball down and get playing but West Ham are doing a good job of pressing high. Kennedy and Greenwood are happy to play it around at the back in search of an opening.
2 min: West Ham make a bright start and win a free kick on the right-hand side which Adriana Leon drifts in. There is a bit of jumble in the box but White eventually clears for City.
We are underway...
1 min: The players walk out into the sunshine at the Chigwell Construction Stadium to loud cheers from the main stand. West Ham win the toss and kick off.
Harder makes one change for West Ham as defender Hawa Cissoko is benched in favour of Katerina Svitková. The Czech Republic international has been one of the Irons’ major goal threats this this season, with three assists and two goals.
Pre-match doubts for City, Alex Greenwood and Alanna Kennedy are both fit enough to start. Ten-goal pair Chloe Kelly and Ellen White come back into side, as does Laura Coombs. Georgia Stanway, Khadija Shaw and Hayley Raso all make way.
The teams
West Ham (3-5-2): Arnold, Fisk, Flaherty, Parker, Longhurst, Hasegawa, Brynjarsdóttir, Evans, Svitková, Yallop, Leon
Subs: Wyne, Stringer, Snerle, Walker, Filis, Joel, Cissoko, Moore, Houssein
Manchester City (4-3-3): Roebuck, Bronze, Kennedy, Greenwood, Stokes, Walsh, Coombs, Weir, Kelly, Hemp, White
Subs: Keating, Taieb, Shaw, Angeldahl, Stanway, Mace, Raso, Benameur
Preamble
Manchester City go into this semi-final as heavy favourites but know that to progress they must overcome one of just a handful of teams to beat them on the domestic front this season. West Ham, now well-established in the Women’s Super League, were 2-0 victors at the Academy Stadium back in October as Gareth Taylor’s side struggled to find their feet early in the season.
City are on more of an upward curve now, with five wins in their last five outings in league and cup. One of those was a 2-0 victory at West Ham in their last WSL match earlier this month. However, Irons head coach Olli Harder has primed his side to put up a defensive wall at the Chigwell Construction Stadium as he bids to continue what he describes as West Ham’s “fantastic story” in this season’s Women’s FA Cup.
It is the first time in this season’s competition that West Ham will have the backing of their home fans, with each of their three wins so far coming on the road. Should West Ham cause an upset and reach the final it will be the second time in the last four seasons that they have reached the final. The last time resulted in a 3-0 defeat at Wembley to - you guessed it - Manchester City.
