City triumphed in a five-goal FA Women’s Cup thriller to progress to the fifth round, surviving a late scare as the Reds piled on the pressure late on.
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Scott netted the winner – her first goal in two seasons – after Ellen White had bagged a brace, and the 32-year-old admitted the game was frantic, due to the emotions of the rivalry.
“It was a mad game!” she declared. “To be honest, once the emotions about going through settle, we’ll probably say we could have been better – the girls all feel that.
“That’s the standards we set for ourselves. There are turning points in a game; that’s why we all love football – for its highs and lows, and we’ve all been there at both ends.
“We rode our luck a little bit. Everyone says before Derby games: play on logic and stick to the tactics, but you can’t help but get caught up in the emotion – you can hear the crowd are trying to wind you up; you put in a tackle and there’s a lot of boos.
“We fought together until the end. We were looking at each other in the last five, ten minutes and stuck together to get the job done.
“It was great to get the win, especially in a competition like the FA Cup. The aim was to get through to the next round and we’ve done that so it will be a happy journey back.”
Scott’s goal – a deflected first-time effort from range – marked her 24th for the Club but first in two seasons.
Naturally, the midfielder was delighted to write her name onto the scoresheet once again.
“It’s been a long time since my last goal!” she conceded. “I’m blaming Nick (Cushing) for that, for playing me in different positions!
“It took a big deflection but I wouldn’t have cared, as long as it went in!”
The victory over United also … the first of Cushing’s final three games in charge, before he departs for New York City FC to become Assistant Manager.
City face two season-defining encounters against League Champions Arsenal – first in the Continental Cup semi-finals on Wednesday night (7:30pm) and then in a top-of-the-table Women’s Super League clash on Sunday (2pm) – and Scott hopes her side can finish his tenure in charge on a high.
“It’s a bit week for us – a tough week,” she stated. “United and then two games against Arsenal… it’s a tough task.
“We haven’t really spoken about what this week means in terms of magnitude but we’re aware we could have been out of two competitions and disadvantaged in the league.
“We got the job done (against United). Now, we’ll go away and recover for the journey to London because we’re always drawn away!
“We know we’ll have to put in a better performance on Wednesday because it’s going to be very tough against Arsenal.
“Everyone is really happy for Nick – he’s such a good guy and such a big assert to the women’s game, especially with the style of play he’s got us playing. Other teams have looked at that.
“He’s got a move to New York – not a bad place to live! – and we want to give him a good send-off.
“It’s also my birthday next Sunday so hopefully, it will be a double celebration!”
