Tranmerekat on Tour: Treblemaker

Chelsea v Manchester United in the Adobe Women's FA Cup Final At Wembley

We are back at Prenton Park South as the Blues take on the Reds in a repeat of the final 2 years ago. It’s the World's greatest cup competition and the 2 previous winners are trying to get their hands back on the famous trophy. The Blues are up for the treble having already won the WSL and the cup formerly known as the Conti Cup. The Reds are trying for back to back trophies. They lost to Arsenal in a 7 goal thriller so finished 3rd in the WSL. The season ends here with the FA Cup Final which is as it should be. We’re way up in the cheap seats with a good, although distant view of the whole pitch. The pitch is looking great after yesterday's men’s final but it did get a good watering afterwards. #PepsTears. We’ve had a selfie with Basil, fallen out with the security and made it up to the lofty heights above the dugouts and tunnel. The team sheets are out and the surprise it that it’s 3 at the back for the Chels. In Blue are Mille, Naomi and Natalie, Running up and down the wings are Lucy and Niamh. It’s Erin and Kiera in the middle. Up front are Aggie, Mayra and Sandy. Hannah is in goal as ever. Only Millie and Niamh remain from the winning team 2 years ago. The Reds have gone for a back 4 with Millie Turner and Maya Le Tissier centrally in front of Phalon Tullis-Joyce. Aoife Mannion is on the right and Gabbi George on the left. There is no Jade Riviere today. Miyazawa and Jansen are in the middle. Bizet and Galton are either side of Grace Clinton who is the 10. Terri is up front. The two goalkeepers are joint holders of the WSL seasons Golden Glove. We’re expecting this to be tense and nervy with so much at stake. But we’re hoping for an end to end goal fast. There are loads of people on the pitch. Oli Murs 🎶 comes on and does a new song that nobody knows and then “Dance with me tonight”. No sign of Troublemaker. There are wheelie bins of fire 🔥 joined by a few fireworks 🎆. It's not as exciting up here as it is near the front. It’s all cleared away very quickly and we’re off. Go Chels.

It’s all Red at the start with them dominating, mostly via Bizet on the right. A succession of corners leads to nothing. The Blues can’t hold onto the ball. It takes 10 minutes for them to settle into the game and start to get forward. It’s down the wings mostly, primarily on the left with Niamh and Sandy. It’s a bit end to end with chances for both teams. It’s so close on 20 from Ramirez but somehow PTJ keeps it out. The Reds are defending well but the Chels are starting to dominate. Cuthbert is everywhere & is fouled by Bizet after a corner. It’s a pen to the Blues which is eventually confirmed by VAR. It’s fun watching the spidercam hovering above the groups of players like it’s trying to eavesdrop. Sandy takes the spotkick and makes it count in front of the Utd fans ⚽. 1-0. There are 5 minutes added but the Chelsea confidence is up and the Reds are chasing shadows. Advantages Chelsea at the break.

A change for the Reds as Tooney replaces Millie Turner with Jansen dropping back into defence. They get an early chance as the ball in from Bizet finds the head of Terri but Hannah makes an easy catch. It’s a good start for the Reds. The first yellow card goes to Galton for a choke hold on Lucy. Terri hits on the break but Girma has the pace that has been missing at the back when holding a high line. Toone forces a better save from Hannah. Clinton is the next to get a yellow card for bringing down Erin. It’s soon reciprocated as Erin is booked for a foul on Grace. Leah Galton goes down in a tussle with Lucy. Play goes on as Lucy flags for it to stop. The ref eventually notices and gets thanked with a chorus of “you’re not fit to referee”. We beg to differ. She has let it flow without it getting too niggley. Kat Macario comes on to Gabby George puts in a great cross and Erin puts it just wide of her own net. Macario’s first shot is miles wide. Another Red change and it’s another defender replacing an attacker as Mannion is replaced by Malard. It’s Gabby George booked next for poleaxing Aggie. No regrets there. The Blues are starting to control again. with some nice attacking moves. Sandy is in the middle of it all. Aggie makes way for youngster Weike Kaptein. The Reds haven’t given up and are still looking for an equaliser but they are starting to tire from chasing the ball. Ten to play and it’s time for supersub Rachel Williams who replaces Bizet. Kat Marario makes it 2 on 85 as she heads home a Baltimore freekick ⚽. 2-0. It feels like job done now and the crowd can feel it. There are fans heading for the exits 🏃🏼‍♀️. Not in the Blue end, that is bouncing. It’s too big a hill to climb for the Reds now. They might get 1 back but 2 now is not going to happen. Getting 1 back would make it tense now though. It’s 10 minutes added on. Will we see the important 3rd goal? We do see it and it’s Sandy Baltimore from close range on 90+1 ⚽. Nine miserable minutes for the Reds now. The rate of exodus increases🏃🏼‍♀️🏃🏼‍♀️. Some late changes as Baltimore, Bronze and Cuthbert are subbed off to great applause. JRK, Guru and Nusken are the replacements. The Reds defence are in for a torrid few minutes but they hang on and it stays 3-0. It’s time for a party in the Blue end 🥳. The other end have mostly sat tight and are backing their club despite the loss. Blue is certainly the colour today. The medals 🥇🥈 are handed out, another cup is raised 🏆 and the party starts. Invincible? Up to everyone else to prove otherwise.

That was a very Chelsea performance. It took a little while to get a grip on the game but after that it never really looked in doubt. Erin was causing so much grief for the Reds that the penalty was inevitable. Sandy was unstoppable with 2 goals and an assist. The attendance was a bit lower than last year at 74,412. There were a good few empty seats around. Maybe bought by hopeful Arsenal fans thinking they would make the final 😶. The Blues formation change helped be more aggressive out wide in possession. Chels couldn’t cope with Utd initially but the Reds will regret not making it count when they had the best of the possession. Would have starting with Toone have given them a better chance of an early goal? Maybe. Planning to stay in the game is never a smart move against such a good team. The Reds needed maximum aggression from the off. This season has been a fantastic start for Sonia in her “transition” season. Other teams are going to need to step up if the Blues are not going to run away with it again. The big prize still eludes them though. It would be great if Arsenal could do the job against Barca in Lisbon. Fingers crossed 🤞🏼. That's it. Another domestic season comes to an end. A fitting end today with a Blue treble confirmed. Just the Lionesses 🦁 to go now before the summer break.

POTM: goes to Sandy Baltimore 🏅. It was a real breakthrough game to show us how world class she really is. Two goals and an assist for the third. Fantastic performance. Well earned.

Ref: Despite the protests and the abuse from the Man Utd fans, she had a good game. No VAR intervention required as she got it just right. It was fairly physical but she only intervened when needed. Congrats. Hope we see more of you in the WSL.

The Scran’O’meter loves a ‘Spoons’ breakfast but was disappointed by the decision not to purchase Pick N mix.

Basil watch: He was at the top of the steps. Later on, he was in the Chelsea stand behind the goal and up and down the aisles.

Bottles tops were confiscated along with the bottle and the contents 😡. You can only take in empty bottles.

Love Tranmerekat 🐾