City edge past Birmingham into FA Cup semis

Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw fired City ahead inside eight minutes and also struck the post in an otherwise evenly-matched first half at St Andrew’s.

Chances were few and far between in a keenly-contested tie, though Shaw, Yui Hasegawa and Rebecca Knaak all struck the woodwork in our quarter-final bout.

The result means the Blues sign off for the April international break with a hard-earned win and are just one more result away from a return to Wembley.

What happened

A battle between the WSL and WSL 2 leaders, it was City who went in front early on when Iman Beney’s perfectly weighted pass in behind the hosts’ defence was ruthlessly dispatched by Shaw.

But the hosts, on the cusp of promotion to the top flight, were far from out of the contest and battled hard in the opening 45.

Khiara Keating was called into action to claim a couple of dangerous balls into the City box, but City went closest to a second before the break when Shaw’s deflected effort came back off the post.

Despite controlling large spells of possession, chances were few and far between for Andrée Jeglertz’s side after the break.

It was clear to see why Birmingham are on the cusp of a return to the WSL based off their tireless display, though goalkeeper Lucy Thomas was thankful to see the ball come back off the crossbar after spilling Hasegawa’s long-range effort with ten to play.

The Japan midfielder went close again as stoppage time approached when forcing a fine save from Thomas, with Knaak then hitting the bar with a powerful header from the resultant corner.

City had to settle for a one-goal victory but, against a battling and confident opponent, we ultimately got the job done.

Flying full-back

Beney grabbed two assists in our Round Five victory over Sheffield United, and once again played a crucial role in the game’s opener.

After a delightful give-and-go with Yui Hasegawa down the right, the Swiss international curled an exquisite pass in behind the Birmingham defence and into the path of Shaw, who poked home without breaking stride.

The teenager has enjoyed an impressive first season in English football, with this display another example of the exciting talent City have on our hands.

Into the semis

It wasn’t pretty at times, but City got over the line in the west midlands.

The early goal proved the difference at St Andrew’s, though we could’ve won by a bigger margin had Shaw and Hasegawa’s efforts both sneaked in rather than striking the woodwork.

Last week, City dominated with some delightful free-flowing football in a 3-0 win at Manchester United, and while this wasn’t as clearcut, we still managed to get the same result in the end.

Player of the Match: Khiara Keating

Our goalkeeper barely put a foot wrong at St Andrew’s, commanding her box excellently while also being smart and assured in possession.

She was also alert to the long ball over the City defence, including a crunching challenge to stop Wilma Leidhammer in her tracks.

How we lined up

Birmingham XI: Thomas, Silcock (Cornet 84’), Cooke, Geum-Min Lee (Sarri 62’), Hopcroft, Crosthwaite (Quinn 83’), McKenna, Lindstrom (Leidhammer 75’), Hurtre, Miyagawa (Holloway 84’), Herron (C)

Birmingham Subs: Irvine, Harris, Kovacs, Louis

City XI: Keating, Rose, Greenwood (C), Ouahabi (Knaak 81’), Beney (Casparij 68’), Coffey, Hasegawa, Hemp, Fujino, Coombs (Kerolin 64’), Shaw (Fowler 68’)

City Subs: Cumings, Blindkilde Brown, Prior, Oyama, Murphy

What it means

City are in the FA Cup semi-finals for a ninth time in 13 seasons.

We’ll face Chelsea away on the weekend of 9/10 May, with Liverpool and Brighton competing in the other last four tie.

Up next

City are back in Barclays Women’s Super League action after the international break, taking on Brighton & Hove Albion at Broadfield Stadium.

Kick-off is set for 12:00 (UK) on Saturday 25 April.

Next Fixture

All fixtures

Sat 25 Apr

Barclays WSL

Brighton

12:00

BST

Man City