Women's Continental Cup final: Manchester City 1-0 Birmingham City (aet)

By Tom GarryBBC Sport at the Academy Stadium
Manchester City celebrate Lucy Bronze's winner
Bronze (second from right) struck the extra-time winner for Manchester City

Manchester City beat Birmingham City in extra time to win the Continental Cup final - with boss Nick Cushing remaining with the team despite his wife going into labour.

After the win he admitted he was not aware if his third child had arrived.

England's Lucy Bronze sealed victory with a far-post header from a corner after a goalless first 90 minutes.

That was enough to win Man City's third major trophy, just seven days after clinching their first league title.

A lively crowd of 4,214 were at Man City's Academy Stadium home - which was named as the "neutral venue" for the final in July and Birmingham boss David Parker described it as "the most un-neutral final you'll see in football" before the game.

Manchester City - who also won the Continental Cup in 2014 - controlled the first half but Birmingham's German keeper Ann-Katrin Berger did well to tip away Toni Duggan's cross-goal effort and hold Nikita Parris' low shot.

Birmingham, beaten finalists in 2011 and 2012, were well-organised with five at the back but rarely threatened the league champions' goal, although Freda Ayisi and Melissa Lawley both shot wide after the break.

In extra time, Duggan fired over before Bronze's angled header from a corner opened the scoring and Tessel Middag almost added a second, but struck the post.

Manchester City manager Nick Cushing told BBC Sport:

"With 20 minutes to go, I thought we'd lose - one of those games where you're on top, but you lose to a goal on the break.

"We start our Champions League campaign on Thursday and we'll have to play better than that.

"I haven't had a text [from my wife] yet, so there is no news. I had a job to do here."

Birmingham manager David Parker told BBC Sport:

"We're going to be back. We'll be back in more finals, we'll win.

"We're going places. We'll learn from these occasions and we'll be better for it.

"There were lots of things that made it feel like an away game, things behind the scenes that maybe you don't see, and a big, big crowd. But we made them nervous at the end of normal time."

Manchester City Women: Hourihan, Bronze, Houghton (c), Beattie, Stokes, Walsh, Scott, Christiansen, Parris (Asllani 65), Duggan (Corboz 105), Ross (Middag 84).

Substitutes not used: Bardsley.

Goals: Bronze (105)

Birmingham City Ladies: Berger, Sargeant, Carter, Harrop, Ayisi (Linden 105), Linnett (Wellings 75), Hegerberg (Peplow 90), Ewers, Lawley, Westwood (c), Mannion.

Substitutes not used: Baggaley, Windell, Stringer, Schroder.

Attendance: 4,214

Referee: Rebecca Welch

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