13 min: A clever corner routine by Everton, as its pulled back to the edge of the area, from where Turner clips a teasing ball towards the back post. Sorensen leaps to try to get a little touch on it, but a defender beats her to it.
11 min: Sorensen twists her way past tow down the left and then aims a useful cross towards the penalty spot. But it’s deflected behind for a corner.
9 min: It’s very scrappy fare. Both teams are trying to play their way through the other but precision is lacking and the defending is diligent.
6 min: After a long-range shot is deflected wide, Birmingham earn the game’s first corner. It’s delivered well to the neat post, where the keeper comes to punch clear.
4 min: There’s no question of these sides easing their way into the game: the intensity has been high from the start and the challenges are coming hard and fast.
2 min: Everton’s manager demanded a strong start and he has got it. An early cross from the left brings a mistake from Hampton in the home goal, but she reacts quickly to pounce on the ball after spilling it.
The teams are on the pitch. Everton are wearing mustard yellow while the hosts are in blue with white sleeves. It’s a big moment for Birmingham centreback Gemma Lawley, in particular: not everyone gets to make their debut in a FA Cup semi-final!
The managers pre-match thought
Birmingham’s Carla Ward: “There is no pressure. [The players] can can go and enjoy it … Now is the opportunity, don’t waste it.”
Everton’s Willie Kirk: “The key is the way we start the game. We were very disappointed with the way we started on Sunday. We managed to recover from it but you don’t always get a second chance.”
Weather report: it’s absolutely lashing it down in dusky Birmingham. The grass is going to be slick, and any players still feeling stiff from Sunday’s exertions will be hoping nothing goes twang.
Birmingham: Hampton, Scott, Corsie, Lawley, Holloway, Whipp, Green, Murray, Mayling, Walker, Kelly
Subs: Napier, Scofield, Grant, McCarron, Toussaint
Everton: MacIver, Moe Wold, Turner, Finnigan, Sevecke, Clemaron, Christiansen, Sorensen, Boye-Hlarkah, Graham, Magill
Subs: Koepeka, Egurrolla, Stringer, Pike, Roso, Gauvin, Pattinson
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Preamble
Hello and welcome to the first FA Cup semi-final. There’s no doubt who comes into this tie as favourites: Everton have made a strong start to this season, winning both their opening league matches before defeating Chelsea, no less, in Sunday’s quarter-final.
By contrast, Birmingham lost their opening two leagues games, which doesn’t augur well for their chances of avoiding another relegation scrap but, on the other hand, they suggested that they are improving fast by reaching this semi-final at the expense of Brighton, who had beaten them three weeks previously in the league. Mind you, that win, on penalties, may have taken a lot of the team, which is why manager Carla Ward denounced the “ridiculous” scheduling of this match, just two full days later. But this is where we are. So Birmingham have to find a way to muster another big performance if they are to set up a FA Cup final date with either Arsenal or Manchester City.
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