Manchester City qualified for the quarter final of the Women’s FA Cup with a 10-0 win over a very youthful Ipswich Town – and matched a special goalscoring record by another City team.
Pauline Bremer, Jess Park, and Georgia Stanway notched up hat tricks to match a feat by City players Paul Stewart, David White, and Tony Adcock in beating Huddersfield Town 10-1 in November 1987.
Interim City boss Alan Mahon was proud of his players and explained why he took fourth tier Ipswich Town so seriously in only his second game as interim boss.
He said: “You can’t afford to take the foot off the gas in cup games. I wanted to give some players games and I was really proud of them especially the young ones.
“Ipswich approached the game really well. They are a former club of mine and are a fantastic club.
“If you look at the team they have, the investment they have put in, and the gaffer they have – that was one of the reasons why we didn’t take them lightly.
Although City didn’t take the Tractor Girls lightly, Mahon certainly picked an unusual side for the FA Cup game – picking Georgia Stanway in a three player defence alongside captain Steph Houghton and Demi Stokes.
Houghton was flanked by Stokes on her left and Stanway on her right, with Keira Walsh shielding them – sitting deep.
There were four midfielders in front of them in Lauren Hemp, Tyler Toland, Laura Coombs, and Janine Beckie while Pauline Bremer was partnered by England youth international Jess Park.
“We had a couple of injuries this week and we wanted to manage the game.” explained Mahon. “Stanway’s a top young player who we knew could adapt and play there and we worked on that for a couple of days.
He added: “And then we put her up top and she showed us what she could do.”
Stanway was the third City player to score a hat trick today along with in-form Pauline Bremer – who hit her 22nd goal in as many games this term – and youngster Jess Park who also took home a match ball.
Mahon praised City’s clinical finishing. He singled out Park, 18, for a bright future with City.
“We could have had more.” he said. “I’m critical, but the girls took their chances in the second half.
“Jess Park stepped up and was composed. She’ll go on to be a top player.”
Park’s fellow hat trick scorer – the in-form Pauline Bremer – added that City were laser focused on retaining the FA Cup.
“I feel brilliant, fit and healthy, and enjoy playing a lot at the moment. It’s about my team mates finding me with passes and me finishing them off.
“We were in the final last year, which was amazing, and we want to defend the title.
“Sometimes these are the hardest games but we have to be professional.”