Manchester United reach final as Bizet and Clinton down City

It would be wrong to suggest there has been a seismic shift in momentum in Manchester but United's 2-0 defeat of a beleaguered City to set up a third successive FA Cup final, against Chelsea, showed a maturity and composure that has sometimes proved elusive in the fixture.

- Suzanne Wrack

"To get back to a final is no mean feat, so I'm really pleased," said Marc Skinner. "The performance today was incredible. Credit to the players, we dominated. It should've been more."

City bowed out of the tournament with a whimper, their last hope of a trophy over within 22 minutes but written off by many before a ball was kicked at a windswept Academy stadium. Nick Cushing's squad, torn apart by injuries, is so threadbare that only four outfield players were named on the bench, including the 17-year-old Sacha Lewis, who joined Derby on a dual registration in January to get playing minutes in the National League Northern Premier Division.

Kicked out of the Champions League by Chelsea, 13 days after they endured a League Cup final defeat against Sonia Bompastor's side, and seven points adrift of third-placed United in the Women's Super League, for City the FA Cup had offered a chance to salvage something from a disastrous injury-crippled season.

"In the sense of trophies, the season is over," Cushing said. "We can still mathematically get into third place. We have to win out now."