City will lock horns with the Women’s Super League (WSL) winners at Wembley Stadium on Sunday, in a re-run of this season’s Continental Cup final, when we came from a goal down to lift the trophy after Caroline Weir’s second-half brace and an Ellen White effort secured a 3-1 win.
WOMEN’S FA CUP TICKET INFORMATION
It was our first victory over Chelsea in nine attempts, and Stanway felt the manner of the performance proved how important it is to be patient in these big games.
That’s something the midfielder feels will be required again at Wembley, but above all else, she says it imperative the players back themselves and play with the belief that they can lift the trophy.
“It was a game of patience,” she said when reflecting on what she learnt from the previous cup final.
“In the first half, we were a little bit rattled, making a few of our own mistakes so it’s about relaxing in those moments, believing in ourselves.
“We’re Manchester City: we’re an unbelievable team, we play unbelievable football and we have unbelievable individuals. We have to back that all the way.
“There are 90 minutes in a game, it doesn’t have to be the first minute that you score. They all count.
“Be patient and ride it out, and hopefully we’ll get the result we want.”
Both teams will go into the game full of confidence.
Chelsea have just claimed a third consecutive WSL title, whilst we have won our last 13 games in all competitions and secured Champions League football next season with our final-day victory over Reading.
A win at Wembley would see the Club seal a double for the third time in our history and, having endured a difficult start to the campaign, Stanway says an FA Cup triumph would provide a dream ending.
“We had a rocky start but we’re on the right track, going up,” she added.
“The critical moment was the Continental Cup final – how we brought it back. Players stepped up and that was an unbelievable day.
“When you put it into perspective, we didn’t have the start we wanted – we set out to go further in the Champions League, win the league, Continental Cup and FA Cup.
“We’ve ticked off the Conti Cup so we’ve achieved something. To have done that and got to the FA Cup final considering the start we had makes it more exciting and showcases the growth we’ve had as a team this year.
“It wasn’t the year we wanted in terms of our start, but we can end it on a high.
“We just need to win, simple as that. The FA Cup… What a way to end the season! Winning that would be a dream come true.”
