Manchester United star Mary Earps is a force of nature, but even though she sometimes gives her teammates ear shots, they’re lucky to have her.
The award-winning England goalkeeper’s talents are sometimes taken for granted after being named the world’s best goalkeeper in 2022 and 2023.
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But in difficult times, she is always ready to save the day and inspire her colleagues.
It was a terrific display from Earps that saw Manchester United Women win their first piece of major silverware.
She put on a clinic in a 2-1 win over Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final with an incredible save to deny Lauren James from running clear.
The save then saw Earps unleash an
Aoife Mannion told talkSPORT: “What Mary is on the pitch is exactly what she is in training,” she said.
“She is full of energy, incredibly authentic and passionate as a character and very inspiring on the field.
“I was telling her at the gym that she had made a special stop. [vs Chelsea] where it almost looked like she had to stretch or dislocate her shoulder to stop the ball from going into the net and I’m surprised there weren’t any videos or memes [because] Basically, when she did that, I just put my hands on my face and gasped.
“At that moment I was like a fan watching him and it’s very rare in football, in a match as a player, where you have the feeling of something so incredible.
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“I’m really happy for her and she’s an incredible goalkeeper and sometimes little moments like that in games can remind everyone how lucky we are to have her and how much I personally lucky to play alongside him.
“Some of these saves were just massive and it cannot be understated how incredible and skillful they are. I’m really happy she was in the net for us because the result could have been very different if she wasn’t.
It’s been a tough couple of years for Mannion due to injury, with the defender rupturing her ACL in 2022, which ruled her out for almost a year.
To make matters worse, she also tore her quad in September, which kept her sidelined for five months.
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Fortunately, the 28-year-old is enjoying her football again ahead of the Women’s FA Cup final against Tottenham in May.
“I’ve been at United for around three years and in that time we’ve managed to take a step forward to qualify for the qualifying group stages of the Champions League,” Mannion finished.
“The next step now is to actually enter the group stage, progress in this competition and participate in it on a regular and frequent basis.
“Also, a law for winning trophies [is what we want] and that’s what the fans want and that’s a big hurdle to overcome. The team, in the 2018/19 season, won the championship, therefore the league below the WSL.
“Really, it’s silverware that the fans want to see and obviously we have an incredible chance in May with the FA Cup.
“I’ve had some serious injuries and so to potentially be in a position where I can help and contribute to a team potentially capable of winning an FA Cup final, would just be a dream come true.
