‘These finals always swing on moments’ – Cushing reacts to Manchester City’s defeat to Chelsea | OneFootball

Manchester City’s interim head coach Nick Cushing admitted that the key moment fell Chelsea’s way as his side were defeated 2-1 in the Subway Women’s League Cup final at Pride Park in Derby this afternoon.

Mayra Ramírez fired Chelsea into an eighth-minute lead before Aoba Fujino levelled for The Cityzens in the second half. Manchester City lost the game in an unfortunate fashion as a Ramírez cross deflected off Yui Hasegawa and into her own net 13 minutes from time.

When speaking in the post-match press conference, Manchester City’s interim boss Cushing said that he was pleased with his side’s performance but admitted that the key moment fell Chelsea’s way.

“I want this team to be a threat and I want this team to be a threat however the game goes,” Cushing said. “I hope you can see that. I thought we had multiple moments in their box, put them under pressure many times and at half-time, I think it was six corners to zero. We had real belief that we could get back in the game after we went 1-0 down and we had a huge chance.

“These finals always swing on moments. The moment fell to Chelsea and we didn’t get back in it at 2-1 but I’ve seen enough to know that we can be competitive in the next three games [against them]. I have the belief that this team can win. It’s tough to lose finals but you’ve got to dust yourself off and move on.”

Japanese forward Fujino impressed on the right and capped-off her performance with an excellent goal. Cushing was pleased with what his side produced in the wide areas over the 90 minutes.

He said “I thought our wingers were our main threat today. Mary Fowler looked really dangerous when she got on the ball; she faced up and was dribbling and driving into offensive areas and Aoba Fujino was dangerous and scored a great goal.

“I think we will look back at the game and think that we’ve had some great offensive moments, some great attacking moments from possession, that’s what we are known for. Our final product and last bit in the box can be a lot cleaner. If we do that, we could score two or three goals which gives us a great chance of winning a final against a top team.

“It was good but there are small things that we can do better.”

Commenting on the own goal that decided the game, Cushing admitted that it was a case of bad luck and highlighted Hasegawa’s importance to the team.

He said “Naturally, she was disappointed. She’s an incredible person, so she feels like she was the deciding factor in the game but that’s not the case; as a coach, I can go back three or four steps and work out how the ball got there. It’s so difficult to try and defend those moments against players like Lucy Bronze when you’re trying to take depth.

“I don’t think we can hold a player accountable for one moment when she has probably been our best player all season. I’ve watched all of the videos and have seen that she’s been incredible for us.

“These things happen in football, you take them, it’s nobody’s fault. You move on and make sure you prepare for the next one.”

Manchester City face Chelsea again on Wednesday evening when the two sides contest the first leg of their UEFA Women’s Champions League quarter-final tie at The Joie Stadium.