Down to 10 against a Manchester City side wolfishly hunting down our third-place position – the last of the Women's Super League's European slots – with the game locked at two goals apiece, it was sink-or-swim stuff.
Melvine Malard had levelled for the Reds minutes earlier, but a second yellow card for Aoife Mannion, just seconds after that goal, instantly shifted the contest into another new phase: defence versus attack. Hunters against the hunted.
Some might describe what followed as 'desperate defending'. But this United Women team simply don't do desperate defending – these girls would probably prefer the word 'delectable'.