Manchester City book League Cup semi-final after Murphy seals derby revenge | OneFootball

Gareth Taylor hailed the impact of his side’s 18-year-old England youth international Lily Murphy as she scored once and provided an assist in an impressive, match-winning display for Manchester City that knocked Manchester United out of the Women’s League Cup.

The victory gave Taylor’s visitors immediate revenge, in the second Manchester derby in the space of just four days after the error‑strewn 4-2 league defeat against their rivals at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday. It also set up a one-legged semi-final away against Arsenal, to be played on 5 or 6 February.

The pacy Murphy – with previous loan spells at Stockport, Fylde and Stoke before breaking into Manchester City’s senior squad this season – has played in five Women’s Super League games and five times in the Champions League this term but on Wednesday she truly announced herself on a big stage as she produced a mature performance beyond her years on the left wing, helping City to cope with the continued absence of their influential England winger Lauren Hemp.

“The goal was really special for her and when you contribute like that at 18 years old in a derby, it speaks volumes,” Taylor said of Murphy. “She’s probably being used a little bit more than we think she’s ready for, and that’s no fault of her own, it’s due to the issues we’ve had with some injuries, but she’s got an opportunity this season and, you have to say, in most of the outings she’s had she’s really took it. That will give Lily a lot of confidence, scoring in a derby at 18 is amazing.”

Murphy’s goal on the stroke of half-time, which ultimately proved to be the winner, was her first goal in a professional English club competition and only her second senior goal, after her first for the club in the WCL in December against the ­Austrian side St Polten.

At a fairly flat-feeling Leigh Sports Village, Murphy controlled the ball with her head before cutting inside from the left flank, gliding past the experienced United full-back Aoife Mannion with ease, before angling a right-footed shot into the far corner, off the inside of the post, with the in‑form United goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce getting a hand to the shot but not being able to keep it out.

Earlier, Murphy had helped to put the visitors ahead when her well‑placed near-post cross was turned in by the midfielder Laura Coombs, before the United centre‑back Millie Turner had temporarily levelled the score at 1-1 with a confident finish into the roof of the net from close range, after City had failed to clear a high, looping cross from Melvine Malard.

The home side also went close in the first half through the veteran striker Rachel Williams’s acrobatic effort that dropped just over the crossbar, and Marc Skinner felt they should have had a second-half penalty when Khiara Keating brought down Elisabeth Terland, but undeniably this performance from the hosts appeared to lack the energy, intensity and determination which enabled them to secure their memorable win away against their rivals on Sunday.

Skinner rested several of his stars from Sunday, including hat-trick scorer Ella Toone, but afterwards said he had no regrets about doing so because of a need to keep players fresh for the league.

The defeat also continued United’s relatively disappointing record in the competition, with the club still yet to reach a League Cup final. In contrast, City are four-time winners of the trophy. The final this year will be staged on neutral ground at Pride Park, the home of Derby, on 15 March.

Header image: [Photograph: Craig Brough/Action Images/Reuters]