The video will auto-play soon 8 Cancel Get City news sent directly to your inbox! Invalid Email Something went wrong, please try again later. Sign Up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Manchester City Women won their second FA Cup in three years after eventually overcoming a resolute West Ham Women side at Wembley. In front of 43,264 fans, just short of last season's competition-record attendance, City deservedly came out on top. Keira Walsh got them going early in the second half when her long range strike wrong-footed West Ham keeper Anna Moorhouse. Georgia Stanway doubled their lead when she slid an effort into the bottom corner from the edge of the box. And Lauren Hemp sealed the victory with a cool finish to top off a brilliant day for City. (Image: Man City via Getty Images) West Ham had the first half's best chance when only a stunning save from Karen Bardsley could deny a Jane Ross header, who probably should have scored. But City totally dominated the second half and in the end simply had too much quality for the Hammers. The result also means City remain unbeaten in the 2018-2019 domestic season. (Image: Catherine Ivill) West Ham, meanwhile, were denied their first ever FA Cup win, and will be hoping to reach Wembley again next season.<doc-sep>Favourites City grabbed the lead in the 52nd minute through England midfielder Keira Walsh, who struck a shot from outside the box which caught out Wet Ham goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse. Underdogs West Ham pressed for a way back into the game, but Georgia Stanway scored in the 80th minute before Lauren Hemp lobbed Moorhouse with two minutes remaining as City sealed victory with 43,264 fans watching on at Wembley. City and West Ham went in at half-time with the scoreline still 0-0. The Hammers came close to breaking the deadlock in the 29th minute when ex-City striker Jane Ross' header was kept out by a superb Karen Bardsley save. West Ham subsequently had a penalty shout turned down when Alisha Lehmann was tackled by Jill Scott, before City threatened towards the end of the half, with Scott's effort being blocked by Claire Rafferty and Nikita Parris curling off-target. But Walsh grabbed City's opener after the break before Stanway's deflected strike nine minutes from time made things safe, with Hemp's lob from the left flank adding gloss to the scoreline as West Ham wilted late on. The result ensured a cup double for City. who won the League Cup back in February and narrowly missed out to Arsenal in the WSL title race.<doc-sep>The Manchester City manager, Nick Cushing, pressed the importance of blooding youth after three of his charges – 22-year-old Keira Walsh, 20-year-old Georgia Stanway and 18-year-old Lauren Hemp – scored the goals in a ruthless second half that undid a battling West Ham in the FA Cup final. “We have to expose our younger players to these occasions because we want them to reach their potential,” said Cushing. “Regardless of the result we had to get Lauren Hemp on the pitch, just as we had to get Georgia Stanway on in 2017. “Of course, it helps when you’re in control of the game but you have to expose these players because they are the next Nikita Parris, Jill Scott or Steph Houghton.” City – denied the Super League title by Arsenal despite being unbeaten with one game to play – completed a domestic cup double in front of an overwhelmingly hostile crowd at Wembley by clinching their second FA Cup, beating opponents making their first appearance in the final. The Hammers, who turned professional only last summer, took the game to the Women’s Super League runners-up in the first half. But a mistake from the West Ham goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse, who took a step the wrong way as Walsh struck from 25 yards, meant they were chasing the game and forced to leave gaps at the back. These were duly exploited by Stanway and Hemp as the clock ticked down and West Ham legs got heavy. As the game kicked off with the crowd clearly behind West Ham, despite the clash with the men’s fixture, and “Come on you Irons” ringing round the stadium, the players in claret were making their presence known to a frustrated City. With Stanway – who shared a photo of her younger self queuing for a photo with her now teammate Houghton at the 2013 final in the buildup to this match – kept quiet, outmuscled by a steely Hammers back line, Parris was City’s greater weapon in the first 45. Fed the ball on the edge of the area, she took a touch, looked for an opening, but a West Ham defender dived in front of her shot. Steph Houghton holds the trophy aloft. Photograph: Jonny Weeks/The Observer With half an hour gone, West Ham had the best chance of the first period. Erin Simon’s whipped cross from the right was steered beautifully between the City centre-backs and Jane Ross’s downward header was goalbound but Karen Bardsley made a superb save to push the effort wide of the post. Cushing described the save as “huge” and added: “So was the save she made in the Continental Cup, so were all the penalty saves. I can look back to KB making a save against Kelly Smith in my fifth game against Arsenal. She’s made huge saves and continues to make huge saves. “I think in these big games myself, and England fans, see the value of KB in that goal, she’s so big and I think she thrives off making those big saves. We’re all going to say Walsh and Stanway were excellent but KB has probably impacted the game more than anybody by keeping it 0-0.” After the break an irritated City looked to regain the momentum. The previously quiet Stanway then burst to life, taking advantage of a rare break to square to Walsh in the middle but her shot was watched past the post by Moorhouse. Walsh was not about to make the same mistake twice, though, and with 52 minutes gone she danced past Kate Longhurst and her 25-yard shot bounced past the terribly wrong-footed keeper. Looking to turn the screw, City flooded forward again but it was not until the 80th minute that they found their second. Stanway swerved past Brooke Hendrix and Gilly Flaherty with ease before powering a low shot inside Moorhouse’s far post. “I don’t think you ever imagine it because some things you just don’t think are possible,” said Stanway. “But today I’ve just gone one better and achieved dreams that go beyond people’s imagination. City celebrate the first goal scored by Keira Walsh. Photograph: Jonny Weeks/The Observer “That picture [of her and Houghton] proves how important role models are. I’ve always looked up to Steph. It was unbelievable, I remember queuing for a good half-hour to get that picture with her but she’s one of my best mates now so she’ll give me stick for how my hair looked. “I think sometimes you get caught up in the bubble of matches and training and you forget what’s on the outside. Today makes it worthwhile. If we inspire 10 girls we’ve done our job but hopefully today we inspire thousands.” The icing on the cake was added by Hemp with almost her first touch after coming on, and Moorhouse was again at fault. She raced out of her box and the stranded keeper was punished by the 18-year-old who fired past her into the empty net. It was a cruel end to the West Ham fairytale.<doc-sep>Get the biggest City stories, analysis and transfer updates delivered straight to your inbox Invalid Email Something went wrong, please try again later. Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Manchester City Women have won the FA Cup thanks to a dominant second half performance at Wembley. Starting as clear favourites, City Women showed the men's team how to approach their own FA Cup final in two weeks time by brushing off first half nerves to assert their dominance in style. At the start of the season, City Women didn't hide their ambitions of winning every trophy they were fighting for. And while they may not have won the Women's Super League, a domestic cup double is not a bad consolation prize. Goals from Keira Walsh, Georgia Stanway and Lauren Hemp saw off a spirited West Ham side, who played their part in a hotly-fought final at a noisy Wembley Stadium. Nick Cushing said in his programme notes that City know the expectations that come with playing for the club, and embraced the pressure of fighting for multiple trophies. Having already won the Continental Cup this season, City were beaten to the WSL title by Arsenal, but made up for that disappointment by adding another trophy to the Etihad cabinet. Having put ten goals past West Ham in the WSL this season, the message from the City camp was clearly that the 7-1 win over the Hammers in October was not a true reflection of their opponents. And Cushing's team selection reflected that message, as he named a strong team including Football Writer's Association Player of the Year Nikita Parris and PFA Young Player of the Year Georgia Stanway. City made a bright start, but West Ham were pressing high and had the first chance as Jane Ross got behind the defence but ran it out of play. It was a let-off for City, but a boost for their opponents, who were certainly not going to make it easy. Cushing's warnings about West Ham were being proved right, and he should have seen his side fall behind as they gradually surrendered control of the midfield. (Image: Catherine Ivill/Getty Images) West Ham pounced on another loose City ball as Erin Simon broke forward and sent a perfect cross to Ross. The striker looked to have put West Ham ahead with her header, but Karen Bardsley stuck out a strong hand to deny her and keep City level. If that was due to act at a wake up call for City, it wasn't taken, as West Ham came again and forced a series of corners and throw ins. When City eventually got the ball out of their own half, Georgia Stanworth, Jill Scott and Nikita Parris all had half chances. But it was West Ham who were playing with confidence, and looking the more likely. Their game plan to harry City and cause problems was working, and an improvement was needed after the break. An improvement was exactly what was served up. City were on the front foot from the start of the second half, and got their rewards seven minutes later. Keira Walsh - comfortably City's classiest player - turned away from her marker and fired a swerving effort that wrong-footed West Ham goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse and nestled in the corner. (Image: Man City via Getty Images) It was no less than Walsh deserved, and gave City an instant reward for upping the tempo. Just as Ross' header in the first half gave West Ham confidence, City were now playing with freedom, and were creating chance after chance. The best fell to Nikita Parris, who raced clear but saw her shot tipped over the bar. At the other end, Alisha Lehman fired straight at Bardsley in acres of space, but City were now in control. And the crucial second goal came with ten minutes remaining to put the final beyond doubt. Georgia Stanway, who had been relatively quiet until then, advanced into the area and danced through a sea of claret shirts to cooly finish into the corner. All the talk before the game had been over a record attendance at Wembley, but it fell short of the 52,000 expected crowd as 43,000 were present to see City put on a second half show. If Stanway's solo strike wasn't enough, substitute Lauren Hemp lobbed Moorhouse in the closing stages to put the seal on a fine afternoon and secure another trophy for City. City Women have now won the two domestic cups in the same season for the first time, and have shown they can rise to the pressure of fighting on multiple fronts. And they did it in style.<doc-sep>
MANCHESTER CITY sealed a domestic cup double as they powered to Women's FA Cup victory over West Ham. Keira Walsh, Georgia Stanway and Lauren Hemp struck second half goals to end the hopes of the Hammers of pulling off a major shock at Wembley. 5 Manchester City players celebrate after winning the Women's FA Cup Credit: Getty Images - Getty 5 Manchester City won the Women's FA Cup with a 3-0 win over West Ham Credit: Richard Pelham The victory saw City at the FA Cup to the Continental Cup they won earlier this season as they made their class show on the big occasion. Even reaching the final was a major achievement for the Hammers in their first season playing in the WSL. And given they had been thrashed 7-1 by City earlier this season there were few pundits even giving the London side a glimmer of hope before kick-off. But it was City who struggled to find their best form in the opening half as they were put under pressure and prevented from playing their normal game. The anticipated onslaught failed to materialise, and instead it was West Ham who started to warm to the task and take the game to the favourites. They created the first clear cut chance of the match on 29 minutes - and should really have scored. 5 Anna Moorhouse allows the shot from Keira Walsh to slip through her hands for the opening City goal Credit: Alamy Live News But striker Jane Rose failed to get enough power on her diving header, allowing England keeper Karen Bardsley the opportunity to scramble across and make a fine reflex save to turn the ball away for a corner. Nikita Parris looked City's most obvious threat in attack, but dragged one effort wide of target and was denied another chance by a desperate last-ditch tackle from Gill Flaherty. West Ham were delighted to go into the break goalless, but their efforts in the opening half had clearly taken a lot out of them. Right from the resumption of play City looked a yard sharper and it seemed only a matter of time before they broke the Hammers resistence. That goal came on 52 minutes as Walsh was allowed time to drive in a shot which keeper Anna Moorhouse made a complete mess of to allow the ball to squirm into the net. Parris drove another effort high and wide as City poured forwards looking for their second - before Alisha Lehmann tested Bardsley with a shot on the break. But City made sure of the win ten minutes from time as Stanway cut in from the left and saw her shot take a slight deflection into the bottom corner. And on 88 minutes another piece of poor goalkeeping from Moorhouse allowed sub Lauren Hemp the chance to lift home the third. 5 Georgia Stanway celebrates the vital second goal in her player of the match display Credit: Getty Images - Getty