Pride is the word as Lewes boss and scorer reflect on Manchester United FA Cup tie

Lewes suffered a 3-1 defeat to the Women’s Super League side in front of 2,801 spectators on Sunday afternoon in a game streamed live on BBC iplayer and the FA website.

The Rooks certainly made an impact, trying to take the game to the WSL title challengers and scoring a superb goal byEmily Kraft.

52 fabulous pictures by James Boyes from Lewes Women v Man Utd Women.

Booth told us: “I’m feeling proud of the whole club, really the players, the staff and the backroom team that put on the event here together because it has been put together really well. I think the fans have really enjoyed it. It just allowed us to showcase wha t Lewes is all about.”

Man Utd manager Marc Skinner had plenty to say about his admiration for Lewes.

“I don’t think we performed as well as we can do but a lot of credit needs to go to the fans, to Lewes,” Skinner said.

"They brought the game to us, they were fully at the races with physicality and they made it difficult for us.”

Lewes did get on the scoresheet through an unbelievable Kraft strike not long after falling 2-0 behind. Goalscorer Kraft described how good it felt to get on the scoresheet despite the result.

“It’s a nice feeling, especially to score against her [Man U keeper Mary Earps] but all in all it’s a goal and if I can help my team then I’ll take that.” she explained.

“I feel like in every game you just need a bit of magic, just a bit of luck. Managing to get it to 2-1 shows nothing is impossible.”

Overall, it was a great day for Lewes’ fans, players and staff. And most importantly it was a step closer to achieving equality in football for women's teams.

United boss Skinner told how inspiring the Lewes story was to him. “I’m a big believer in action. We need to keep championing that and make sure that as people and as players we give back to the game in order to help it grow as a platform,” he said.

“I’ve listened to the Lewes story beforehand, a couple of the directors came up and had a conversation with me and it’s good what they are trying to build… Women’s football is going on a revolution and so it won’t be long til we get our equity and equality – but we still have a long way to go of course.”