A Chloe Kelly hat-trick, plus goals from Ellen White, Janine Beckie, Georgia Stanway, Rose Lavelle and Sam Mewis, ensured the holders cruised into the fifth round, as the home side dominated from the first whistle.
Naturally, Taylor was delighted with the attacking prowess his team displayed – and was especially impressed with their desire to extend the advantage, even as the game entered its dying embers.
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“I thought it was a very professional performance,” he reflected. “We controlled the game really well and some of the play and goals we scored were exceptional.
“I really liked two things: we didn’t take liberties in the game, even when we were in the ascendency, and the substitutions didn’t alter the level of performance – four of our five substitutes come on and scored!
“Sometimes, you can’t get perfection but I thought the application, attitude, rhythm, control of the game – and the fact we didn’t take liberties and continued to play the game – was great.
“We looked hungry – even in the last ten minutes – and we only gave up one or two slight chances. It was a good save by Ellie Roebuck to keep her clean sheet, which is important.
“Everyone is really contributing. It was a really strong team performance. It’s one we can really build some confidence from.”
In addition to a powerful statement, the triumph also provided a welcome opportunity to freshen up ahead of Wednesday’s potential FA Women’s Super League title decider against table-topping Chelsea.
With a commanding advantage, Taylor made five substitutions in the game, handing rests to key players and valuable minutes to those who are pushing for places as the season enters its finale.
“There’s one of a few ways you can go about it,” he said. “It’s about managing that.
“We had players coming back from international duty. Sam Mewis, Rose Lavelle and Abby Dahlkemper played, Lauren Hemp played a full 90 minutes on Tuesday…
“We really respect this competition. Sometimes, you have to manage priorities but for us, if we’d have ‘rested’ players, they wouldn’t have rested – they would have trained.
“It was great to have a game like this in the FA Cup against Villa. It was perfect conditions and the pitch was good – it was the best training practice you could have.
“Everybody wants to play. That’s the main thing – they want to be better and everyone is really contributing. It’s a really good effort from the players.
“It was a dominating performance.”
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