The Blues suffered a last-gasp defeat to tournament holders Chelsea after extra-time, falling at the semi-final stage to the Londoners for the second successive season.
Although Nick Cushing’s side were disappointed to once again miss out on a Wembley final, the skipper asserts their pain will be used constructively, as motivation for the remainder of the campaign.
“Of course, we’re devastated,” she told mcfc.co.uk. “We were one step away from Wembley but now we have to focus on the league and the Continental Cup.
“I give you my word we will come back fighting - we always do.
“I can’t fault any of the girls. We tried to play football the right way, playing the ball on the floor and moving it around.
“It’s hard, playing 120 minutes of football. You have to concentrate all the time; people are tired - a lot of us had been away on international duty a few days before.
“Unfortunately, it just wasn’t meant to be but in terms of attitude and effort levels, you can’t fault anybody.”
City are able to switch focus quickly, as they are back in FA Super League action this weekend with a trip to Birmingham.
Houghton has called for a reaction and believes the result in Staines can act as a catalyst for another impressive run of form.
She added: “We’ve got Birmingham on Sunday and Manchester City never give up. That’s certain for this squad.
“It happened last year - we lost at the semi-final stage of the FA Cup and then went on a fantastic run. We go again.
“You have to remember the feeling of disappointment. Of course, we’re down at the moment but we don’t want to waste a week of training - we need to focus on our next few games.
“We want to be ambitious and successful.”
