Making her 300th Chelsea appearance, the Scotland international gave us a dream start when she scored from the edge of the area after only eight minutes.

Sam Kerr then doubled that advantage in the second half, but City fought back with two goals in the last five minutes of normal time. Khadija Shaw then netted a winner for the visitors in extra time to send City through to the final at Wembley later this month.

Cuthbert praised the efforts of our players for the first 85 minutes of the game, but acknowledged City’s late comeback was a hammer blow ahead of the extra time period.

‘If you give Man City two goals with five minutes to go, then you're asking for trouble, to be honest,’ Cuthbert reflected. ‘But I thought we had done really well in the game for the most part. That's what hurts the most.

‘We were in control for a lot of the game. I thought we played really well at times, and we had a lot of chances. Disappointed not to put more away, because if you give them a sniff, they'll get themselves back in the game.

‘They've got top players, but I think the extra time really took the stuffing out of us because you lose two late goals like that, and then they had the momentum.

‘When we lose one goal, maybe we look vulnerable to lose a second. I think that's been quite a theme for large parts of the season, but I have to say, I'm so proud of the team.’

A chance to again play at Wembley Stadium was at stake, and the Blues were so near to sealing their place in the FA Cup final for the second season running.

Cuthbert described the mood of the players after the loss and vowed they would analyse the defeat before using the lessons to improve as a team.

‘I know that dressing room's hurting,’ she continued. ‘We wanted to get to Wembley. I wanted to get to Wembley more than anything and give my family one of the best days out, but it's not to be, and I hope this fuels our hunger.

‘I think it'll take a wee while for the dust to settle and for the real reasons to emerge when we actually analyse it calmly after the game. It's hard to take. The legs are hurting, and it's hard to tell what's actually gone on.

‘So it's definitely a team responsibility. We'll have to look at our own individual performances, see what we have and haven't done and be quite honest with ourselves as well.

‘Football's full of emotions. Everybody has different emotions in a game. Some people are having a good game. Some people are not involved in the game. Some people may not be having a good time. We all feel different emotions, and we're all playing a different game, a different scenario.

‘Getting us all back on the same page is really important – and it is small margins in football. It's the small margins that get you to the cup final today, and the small margins that win you the league. I think we need to get better at small moments.

'That comes through training, giving our best every day, challenging each other every day as well and seeing where it takes us.

‘It’s just about having conversations. Everybody's opinion matters. We value everybody's opinion, and everybody sees the game differently. I think we all need to come together a little bit.

‘That's my job as well, as the captain and somebody who's been here a while, to try and get everyone on the same page. But it is a team thing. We do take team responsibility. We will be better next season.'