THE Basildon-born Casey Stoney was delighted to make a winning start to her tenure as manager of the Manchester United Women’s team.

Stoney’s side notched a 1-0 win over Liverpool Ladies in the Continental Tyres Cup.

Lizzie Arnot’s second half goal proved to be enough to allow Manchester United to claim a deserving victory in their first outing as a professional women’s team.

And Stoney, who grew up in Wickford, was pleased to see her outfit come out on top after a summer of hard work.

The former Runwell Community Primary School pupil told BT Sport: “These girls have put an absolute shift in for six weeks. They have been thrown together, completely new at a new club with new processes, and to go out there and dig deep at times and show a bit of character was really pleasing.

“There has been a lot of media attention. When we had our backs against the wall we stayed calm.

“We created some really good opportunities, we just need to take them.

“We had a 16-year-old out there and our average age is 21, so to be able to come out and perform against seasoned professionals like that and get the win is fantastic.”

The victory allowed Manchester United Women to progress in the Continental Tyres Cup.