West Ham United head coach Matt Beard says he is immensely proud of his Hammers side for reaching The SSE Women's FA Cup Final, despite the 3-0 defeat.
The Irons had their chances in the game but failed to take them. Jane Ross had her header well saved, while Alisha Lehmann fired a shot straight at the goalkeeper.
Keira Walsh opened the scoring for Manchester City with a long-range effort that Anna Moorhouse failed to keep out.
City doubled their lead through Georgia Stanway who curled an effort in to the bottom right corner. Then in the closing moments Lauren Hemp scored the third goal as she was able to poke the ball past Anna Moorhouse who was way off of her line.
I couldn’t be prouder of what we’ve created over the course of the season. We’re only going to learn from today and the journey and the experience and we’ll get better because of it.
Matt Beard
However, head coach Matt Beard was proud with the way his players performance on the day, despite the result.
Beard said: “I’m immensely proud of the journey we’ve been on and this showcase was obviously fantastic.
“I thought first-half we were fantastic, to be fair to Manchester City they’re a fantastic team. When the first goal went in and you go behind to them it’s difficult.
“I said to the girls when we were walking round: ‘the support from the West Ham fans today was fantastic’.
“I couldn’t be prouder of what we’ve created over the course of the season. We’re only going to learn from today and the journey and the experience and we’ll get better because of it.”
Beard admits there were times during the game he wasn’t happy with the way the Irons were playing but was glad the team had a go at Manchester City and pushed them all the way.
He said: “There were a few things we weren’t happy with like with them playing through and we were dropping when our line wasn’t broken it allowed them gaps to play in, but it wasn’t really hurting us, and we just had to tweak one or two things.
“I think obviously the first goal changed the game because it was a frustrating goal another strike from distance. The game was opened up when were chasing it and it became a little bit too transitional and a bit too open, but this was a one-off occasion and I would much rather lose by two or three than one and not having a go.”
“We responded well again (to the first goal), we put them under a lot of pressure and had another good couple of chances after that. I couldn't be prouder of the girls.
Over 43,624 fans turned up to Wembley Stadium to watch the final and Beard had nothing but praise for the Hammers fans.
Beard said: “They’ve been fantastic, and I think where we’ve jumped up the divisions and we’ve created a great team here.
“Not just the players, the coaching staff, the people we’ve got behind the scenes, it is a family and the fans have bought in to what we’re trying to do.
“To do what we’ve done in this first year is beyond my wildest dreams and I’m immensely proud and I’m proud to be the manager, it’s a great feeling.”