Jonny Howson scored the winner moments after missing a penalty to give Middlesbrough a 2-1 victory over Huddersfield at the John Smith’s Stadium.
Both sides missed chances in the first period when it looked easier to score, firstly the visitors came close when Isaiah Jones fluffed his lines from close range before Josh Koroma hit the woodwork in front of an open goal for Town.
Second-half substitute Josh Coburn opened the scoring nine minutes after the break but the hosts pulled level thanks to Michal Helik’s strike from the edge of the box.
Another chance presented itself to Boro from the penalty spot but Howson saw it saved by Jacob Chapman, only for him to net moments later as Michael Carrick’s side returned to winning ways.
Middlesbrough missed a golden opportunity to open the scoring in the 18th minute as Jones lifted the ball over Chapman inside the area and only needed to tap into an empty net but he miskicked the ball and Huddersfield somehow recovered.
Huddersfield had a chance of their own as Koroma burst into the area but hit his effort straight at Tom Glover in the Boro goal.
On the half-hour mark, it was the hosts’ turn to spurn a chance with the goal at their mercy as Koroma latched onto a through ball from Sorba Thomas, rounded the goalkeeper but crashed his effort off the crossbar.
Town were the quickest out of the blocks following the interval and almost hit the front when Koroma’s curling effort was palmed narrowly wide of the target by Glover.
The deadlock was broken by the visitors in the 54th minute when Morgan Rogers fed Coburn, with the substitute cleverly dinking over Chapman from close range.
Huddersfield were not behind for long and levelled six minutes later as the ball fell to Helik outside the area and he let fly from distance to find the net via the post.
Town thought they had turned the game on its head with a quarter to go when Thomas rifled into the top corner only for the assistant referee’s offside flag to cut celebrations short.
Middlesbrough were given an opportunity to hit the front from the penalty spot when Ben Wiles brought Rogers down inside the area, but Howson stepped up and saw his spot-kick saved by Chapman and go out for a corner.
Howson made up for his error as the resulting corner fell to the Boro skipper inside the area and this time he made no mistake with a volley which bounced into the net, condemning Huddersfield to their third defeat in five outings.
Pioli wants Milan to finish season on a high
Head coach Stefano Pioli wants Milan to end the season on a high note even though the Serie A title race is lost and their place in the Champions League is already secured.
Milan are winless in their last six matches in all competitions, a dismal run that included a 2-1 loss to Inter which sealed a 20th Serie A title for their city rivals.
Second-placed Milan have 71 points, five ahead of third-placed Juventus with three matches to go.
"We want to get back to winning ways for us, for the club, for the fans," Pioli told reporters ahead of Saturday's match against 15th-placed Cagliari.
"Second place is an important goal and we are motivated to play this game.
"The squad is doing well, at the end of the season it is normal for some players to be more or less in form than one another and this will factor into my lineup.
"It would bother me if the squad weren't to bring all their energy to finish this season in the best way possible.
"No one has said they want to take it slow before the end of the season, the whole squad is ready and available."
Pioli said losing at Roma last month, which ended their Europa League campaign in the quarter finals, was his biggest regret of a trophyless season.
"We could have gone further," he said. "Losing the derbies also weighed heavily on us. We hoped to do better, in general, but I don't think the group ever lacked in their reaction."
A section of Milan fans have been holding protests at matches, demanding clarity from the management regarding the club's future plans after two seasons without silverware.
"My position and position of others will be spoken about after the games. We will see," said Pioli, who has been at the club since 2019 and won the Serie A title in 2022.
"In these years, the club has shown they know how to work and be ambitious.
"I believe that the highs and lows of a season are always shared between club, coach, and players."
Vinicius very close to first Ballon d'Or win, says Ancelotti
Vinicius Jr's dazzling performances at Real Madrid have put the Brazil forward in the conversation to win his first Ballon d'Or and head coach Carlo Ancelotti feels the 23-year-old deserved to win the prestigious award.
Vinicius has netted five times and provided as many assists in the Champions League alone this season to help Madrid book a place in the final, while also scoring 13 goals in LaLiga, which they clinched for a record-extending 36th time last weekend.
The record 14-time European champions will take on German side Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League final at Wembley on June 1.
"He's doing a great job," Ancelotti told reporters ahead of Saturday's league trip to relegation-threatened Granada.
"He's still got the Champions League final to come and then he'll be at the Copa America.
"He's very close, and if he has positive results in both competitions, he could well win it [the Ballon d'Or].
"Before I came to coach Madrid, I saw Vinicius on TV and I thought what an incredibly talented player he looked.
"When I arrived here, that much was clear, and he's improved on many things to enhance that talent.
"He's better at evading his markers now and has improved in front of goal as well. He's done so with a spectacular work ethic on a daily basis, he's focused in training and recovers well after matches.
"He's a highly disciplined professional and he deserves everything he's achieved."
But Ancelotti said the rest of his squad have been just as important in a campaign where several key players at Madrid have suffered injuries.
Vinicius moved to the Santiago Bernabeu from Brazil's Flamengo in 2018.
"He's among the best in the world and this is Vinicius' moment because he brings us so much. He's been important in us making the Champions League final and winning LaLiga. But we mustn't forget how the others have contributed," the Italian said.
French defensive midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni is a doubt for the final after picking up an injury in their semi-final win over Bayern Munich on Wednesday.
"[Goalkeeper] Thibaut Courtois will play, as will Eder Militao. They both need the game time. Andriy Lunin has to be ready to play as well. That's why I'll have to assess the goalkeeping issue in the coming games," Ancelotti said on team rotation.
"We're not sure if Tchouameni will make it for the final but we'll do all we can to see if he can recover. The rest will rotate, including Antonio Rudiger and Nacho."
Man Utd and Tottenham ready to make history in FA Cup final
Manchester United and Tottenham are both looking to win their first-ever Women's FA Cup title when they meet in the final at a sold-out Wembley Stadium on Sunday.
For the first time in 11 years, the trophy will not be lifted by Arsenal, Chelsea or Manchester City, adding an extra level of excitement to an already historic final.
United beat Chelsea 2-1 in the semi-final, earning their first-ever victory over the Blues, while Spurs came from behind to beat Leicester City 2-1 in extra time thanks to Martha Thomas' 118th-minute goal.
It promises to be a tight contest, with very little to separate the sides in the WSL this season - United are fifth in the table, only seven points ahead of Spurs, who sit below them in sixth.
The two sides have met 10 times in the WSL since 2019-20 and the Red Devils have come out on top, having never lost to Spurs (W8 D2), although their most recent encounter ended 2-2 in April.
Second time lucky for United?
Manchester United are featuring in the FA Cup final for the second consecutive year, having not reached this stage before 2023, and they will certainly go into this tie as the favourites.
They lost 1-0 to Chelsea last season - the last side to lose their first two finals were Bristol City in 2011 and 2013, and the Red Devils will be looking to avoid matching that piece of history.
Whoever lifts the trophy will be the 18th different winner of the Women’s FA Cup. It will be the first time since Manchester City beat Birmingham City in 2017 that there has been a new winner in the competition.
Marc Skinner would love to bring the title to the red side of Manchester and told the reporters ahead of the game that his side are unfazed by the favourites tag.
“We have to go into this game and make it very business-related. But enjoy the moment, of course, enjoy. We've got to Wembley," said Skinner.
"We're playing against a team that will be buoyed by that. You get an energy when it's your first final, so you're going to get an energy for that. I think there are ways that you can counteract that, and we have to try and do that.
"But I'm not expecting this is an equal playing field going into it. And we cannot and we won't underestimate it. We know the job we've got to do."
Skinner has a strong record in the FA Cup with United, winning nine of their 11 matches, and scoring 30 goals (2.7 per game). Their only two defeats came against Man City in the fifth round in 2021-22 and in last season’s final against Chelsea.
However, Skinner believes defeat will only motivate his side to do better this time.
He added: "We have to use it as 'remember, remember', bring back those feelings and give more and give more and give more. There's nobody guaranteed to win this final. Let me be very clear on that.
"But what we have to do is give everything in order to make sure the performance is worthy of it. And if we do that and use those experiences, the feelings of it to drive us forward, then, you know, hopefully, that will give us a little edge, and that's what you need to win the game."
Spurs a Maiden adventure
Tottenham were promoted to the WSL just five years ago and, since then, have been building and growing.
Their best-ever league standing came in the 2021-22 season when they finished in fifth. Robert Vilahamn took over as manager in July 2023, with Spurs hoping he could bring the success that he had at BK Hacken to the North London side.
Vilahamn is no stranger to a Cup final and in his time at the Swedish club, he led them to back-to-back Cup finals. Andy Rogers, Spurs Women's managing director, praised the manager's ability when he brought him into the club, saying: "He has a track record of developing players to international level and competing for both domestic trophies and in the Champions League, demonstrating his ability to match our own ambitions and philosophy."
Spurs will feel vindicated in their choice of manager; the Swede has already improved on last season's league position of ninth - their lowest since promotion in 2019 - while also reaching the FA Cup final for the first time.
Speaking ahead of the game, Vilahamn praised his side's progress, saying: "We all, at a big club like Tottenham Hotspur, want to be winning trophies and competing in these kind of games.
"To get there, you have to be there and practice these things in life. Now we get a good chance in my first year to play in a final, instead of speaking about playing in a final in the future.
"Now we get that experience. The players will learn how to do it. I'm learning how to coach at Wembley. Our staff members, our social media team, everybody is learning by doing right now. I think that's a brilliant way to develop.
"For us to be here, it's not only luck. It's because we have made some really good choices this year, and last year when they started this renewal of the women's team. Everything is proof we are doing good stuff. We are already in a final, and hopefully, we're going to win a trophy already this year."
With a new team in line to win, he also spoke on the strength of women's football in England, adding: "And if you look at the final and your winner, Tottenham or Man United, I think it's a good thing for this country to get more teams in the league to compete for the trophies because you want to have a competitive league, especially in women's football.
"There are not so many leagues out there that have so many teams that can win a league or a trophy, and that's why most of the players in Europe want to play in England and not other countries. That's why the coaches want to come here instead of other countries, so it's a big thing."
Ones to Watch
Both teams will have dangerous players in this tie and none more so than the Tottenham captain Bethany England, who is Spurs' top scorer in the FA Cup this season with three goals.
The striker has netted seven goals in her last nine appearances in the competition, including her spell at Chelsea. She featured in three previous finals for the Blues, ending on the losing side in 2016 but winning in 2021 and 2022.
Rachel Williams has scored four goals in four FA Cup appearances this season for United and is averaging a goal every 33 minutes.
She won the FA Cup with Birmingham back in 2012, scoring a 90th-minute equaliser to take the game to extra-time and, despite missing her spot-kick during the shootout, they won on penalties to lift the trophy after a 2-2 draw.
The history books
Sunday's showpiece in the capital will be the 54th Women’s FA Cup final, with none of the previous 53 ending goalless.
Only two have been drawn and decided on penalties - in 1996 when Charlton Athletic won the shoot-out after a 1-1 draw with Liverpool, while in 2012, Chelsea were unable to overcome a very strong Birmingham team, drawing 2-2.
Both teams will be looking to strike first and the team who have opened the scoring in this tie have historically gone on to lift the trophy in 23 of the last 25 FA Cup finals – the exceptions are Charlton vs Arsenal in 2007 (lost 4-1) and Chelsea vs Birmingham in 2012 (drew 2-2, lost on pens).
This tie has all the makings of a spectacular fixture for the fans, the teams and their managers, who will be relishing the chance to make history for their club.
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