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Manchester United manager, Marc Skinner was full of praise for Ella Toone after her rocket strike opened the scoring as United thrashed Newcastle 5-0.
“She took a lot of criticism that she didn’t deserve. What Ella has been doing really well is simplifying – when she draws pressure, she releases. To take that chance… it’s right in the top corner!”
Skinner gushed that the young Lioness has been a breath of fresh air recently and praised her attitude towards her own development.
With 15 days off over the Christmas period, it was the first real rest Toone had had in a long time.
Skinner said: “She’ll tell you, she wants to play every minute of every game forever. Humans often don’t know what’s best for them, especially players so sometimes you have to take that into your own hands and give them a little bit of a break.”
Toone looked fresh and was United’s best player in the first half as she got herself into good spaces and created opportunities for her teammates going forward.
Though it took time to break Newcastle down, Toone’s opener was worth the wait.
“It’s a pleasure to manage someone like Ella,” Skinner continued. “If she’s not playing football, she’s watching it. She’s just so passionate about what she does.”
Toone celebrated in style following her goal, having been forced to wear a mask due to the head injury she sustained out in Malta, she embraced her superhero look with her teammates joining in with the celebrations.
Newcastle, who sit two tiers below Manchester United, were surprised to see the Reds field such a strong team but they gave a good account of themselves regardless of the final score.
Newcastle coach, Becky Langley said: “It was a joy for us to see them play their full strength team, to see the likes of Mary Earps in goal, Ella Toone, Katie Zelem to name a few, was fantastic. It was a compliment to us before we’d even kicked a ball.”
“We were up against a team who played at Wembley last season, so we understood the context. We all had the dream of winning the game but we also understand where we are at.”
The draw for the next round takes place tomorrow and can be heard on BBC Radio 5 Live.