West Ham 1-4 Manchester City: City book place in Women’s FA Cup final

Manchester City will compete for a fourth Women’s FA Cup title after booking their place in Wembley’s final with victory over West Ham.

Kelly’s goal – her first since returning from a serious knee injury – threatened to help City pull clear but Lisa Evans gave West Ham a lifeline minutes before half-time with a composed finish.

West Ham remained competitive but Lauren Hemp confirmed victory for City with two goals in the second half – spinning away from several players before firing it into the bottom corner for her first, then drilling in a second in stoppage time.

It was an entertaining semi-final in front of a raucous crowd in Dagenham, with plenty of chances for both teams.

City could have had several more with White having two headed goals ruled out – the first as Lucy Bronze failed to keep the ball in play, before White was offside when she was picked out by Keira Walsh.

The hosts came close through Tameka Yallop and Katerina Svitkova after the break but City hit the crossbar when Hemp teed up substitute Filippa Angeldahl.

City will face the winner of Sunday’s match between the Women’s Super League’s top two Arsenal and Chelsea – live on BBC Two from 12:15 BST – in the final at Wembley on 15 May.

Emotional goal for City’s Kelly

It was an emotional occasion for Kelly, who was starting her first game for City since returning from an anterior cruciate ligament knee injury.

Her goal was gifted to her by West Ham defender Gilly Flaherty but it did not take anything away from what it meant to Kelly, who immediately jumped into the air, clenching her fists before being hugged by her team-mates.

She was smiling as she jogged back to the halfway line and exchanged words with manager Gareth Taylor. At half-time, she gestured to family in the stands before heading down the tunnel.

The stage speaks for itself – an FA Cup semi-final with a place at Wembley up for grabs. But the timing is also notable given it is only three months until England’s opening game at the Euros.

If Kelly keeps scoring, playing regularly for City and can get near the level of form she showed before her injury, Lionesses’ manager Sarina Wiegman could become interested.