Manchester City beat Aston Villa comfortably to reach semi-finals
Manchester City booked their place in the semi-finals of the Women's FA Cup with victory over Aston Villa at Joie Stadium.
Top-scorer Khadija Shaw broke the deadlock early in the second half after a frustrating start by City, before Jess Park extended their lead later on.
Villa had looked threatening on the break with Ebony Salmon denied by goalkeeper Ayaka Yamashita midway through the first half.
But City's dominance of possession eventually paid off and they showed more creativity as the match wore on.
Shaw was found by Mary Fowler's precise through ball and the Jamaica international was composed as she rolled the ball over the line.
Cracks in Villa's defence then started to appear more often and City took advantage - Vivianne Miedema teeing up Park to make it 2-0.
City will host neighbours and current holders Manchester United in the last four, while Chelsea will entertain Liverpool. Ties are due to be played on 13 April, live across the BBC.
It has not been a smooth season for City but they will fancy their chances of getting their hands on a cup trophy, while Villa's attention returns to their battle to remain in the Women's Super League.
Shaw scores to put Man City in front
City get job done as Villa tire
Villa boss Natalia Arroyo's gameplan was clear to see in the first half as her side were organised defensively and a threat on the counter-attack.
They grew into proceedings, first soaking up a period of control from City, before starting to threaten more on the break.
Chasity Grant played a key role, carrying Villa through the middle, while Salmon used her pace to good effect down the left-hand side.
It was Salmon who had the best chance before the break - a through ball from Gabi Nunes split open City's defence but goalkeeper Yamashita's smart save kept the scoreline level.
That was a wake-up call for City and they responded in the second half, coming out much sharper and more creative.
Fowler, who linked up well with left-back Leila Ouahabi throughout, slid a weighted ball through to Shaw and she coolly rolled it past D'Angelo for the opener.
City pushed to extend their lead, testing Villa's defence with countless crosses into the box, while Shaw went more direct, running at the backline.
Park eventually confirmed victory when she made it 2-0 and manager Gareth Taylor was able to rotate, bringing off star players Miedema and Shaw.
Taylor's side have underwhelmed in recent weeks and were held to a disappointing 1-1 draw with West Ham in their last league match, but they got the job done in Manchester, even if it did feel laboured at times.
"I'm really pleased. We played well and really grabbed hold of the game in the first moments," said Taylor.
"The feeling at half-time was frustration as we didn't have much to show for it. We wanted to get back to maintaining our high standards in the second half.
"We needed to be more decisive and be on the end of [the crosses] even more. But we felt like it was a solid performance."
Their league position still leaves much to be desired but City will play Chelsea in both the Women's League Cup final next weekend and in the Champions League quarter-finals after that - and they now have an FA Cup semi-final to contend with too.
Villa's priority remains staying in the WSL but they will have been encouraged by large spells of their performance at Joie Stadium despite tiring in the second half.
"We came here with a dream of taking something and of being in the semi-finals. In different moments in the game we felt we were close to them," said Villa manager Arroyo.
"We suffered a lot in the opening 10 minutes but we stayed together and step by step we grew into game. Then it's football.
"There are positive things to take from this game. We are in a process to learn and grow."
Park doubles Man City's lead against Aston Villa
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