As their victorious players took it in turns to hoist the trophy into the air, for a brief moment it was strange to think that it has taken so long for Manchester City to add the FA Cup to their list of honours. This, after all, is unlikely to be the last time Steph Houghton and her team-mates will be seen cavorting around the Royal Box at Wembley and it must have been disheartening for City’s rivals to hear Nick Cushing talking about how his team must develop an obsession with winning trophies after the brutal manner of their dismissal of Birmingham City.

With City backed by a level of financial muscle that the majority of teams in the Women’s Super League can only peer at with envious eyes, any challenge to their domestic dominance will have to near perfection. They are setting new standards at the top of the women’s game and their ability to hit such an awesome peak in a game of this magnitude will do little to quell fears that the unwanted side effect of City’s growing supremacy is that it will damage the competitiveness of English football.

Women's FA Cup final: Birmingham City v Manchester City – live! Read more

Their 4-1 victory ensured that they became the first team to hold all three major trophies at once and they won with plenty left in the tank. There were times after the interval when it felt as though City were showing pity to their opponents. Birmingham were blown away by a formidable show of force, conceding three times in the space of 14 painful first-half minutes, and there was little that Marc Skinner’s team could do to resist during that period.

By the time Rebecca Welch’s whistle brought an end to a painfully one-sided first half, Birmingham’s players looked as though they wanted the turf to swallow them whole. They lost control of the contest far too quickly from their perspective and while the underdogs could not be faulted for a lack of effort, the unfortunate truth was that they were often hopelessly out of their depth.

A crowd of 35,271, a record for this fixture, heightened the sense of occasion and Birmingham had drawn their previous two league fixtures with City.

But Cushing’s side were determined to make history. The WSL champions and Continental Cup holders passed crisply and confused Birmingham with their intelligent movement. Birmingham lined up in a 3-4-1-2 system that was intended to frustrate, but they were too narrow and City ran riot in the wide areas.

Demi Stokes was more of a left-winger than a left-back, while Lucy Bronze came up with a goal and an assist on the opposite flank. City’s wingers, Nikita Parris and Melissa Lawley, were always lively and Megan Campbell could be satisfied with her output after creating two goals.

More than anything, City could simply call upon too much star quality. Carli Lloyd, a two-times Fifa world player of the year, World Cup winner and double Olympic champion, headed in their third. The American striker enjoys playing on this pitch bearing in mind her double in the 2012 Olympic final against Japan.

It must be pointed out that Birmingham let themselves down with some questionable defending. The opening goal in the 18th minute was a case in point, with Kerys Harrop outnumbered as she attempted to clear Campbell’s free-kick. Bronze stole in front of Birmingham’s captain and her header looped over Ann-Katrin Berger.

Seven minutes later, Bronze beat two Birmingham defenders on the right and her cross found Isobel Christiansen, who crashed a rising side-footer past Berger.

Lawley raced clear on the left and forced Berger to save, but there was no respite for Birmingham. Berger flapped at Campbell’s high cross and Lloyd headed into an empty net.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Manchester City’s Carli Lloyd heads in their third goal. Photograph: Matthew Childs/Action Images via Reuters

“They were really clinical,” Skinner said. “We showed a little bit of ourselves in the second period but the game was already done.”

Skinner refused to pick out individuals for blame and joked that he could not repeat what he said in the dressing room at half-time, but it was hard for him to hide his disappointment. “I think you can tell by my voice that it’s gone a little bit,” he said.

At least Birmingham refused to give in. Charlie Wellings, a late substitute, gave the scoreline a sheen of respectability with a left-footed shot that swerved away from Karen Bardsley, but there were few moments of genuine concern for the team in the lighter shade of blue to endure.

Gallingly for Birmingham, the second half mostly had the tempo of an exhibition and there was a sense that City could score at will.

They did not need long to restore their three-goal lead. Jill Scott skipped round Harrop before finishing coolly. City’s superiority was overwhelming.

Cushing denies wins are bad for WSL

Nick Cushing denied that Manchester City’s growing supremacy will damage the competitiveness of women’s football in England after watching his team crush Birmingham City in the FA Cup final.

City’s 4-1 victory over Birmingham ensured that they became the first team to hold all three major English honours, with the Women’s Super League title and the Continental Cup already in their trophy cabinet, and there are fears that their financial power will result in them becoming too dominant.

Yet Cushing insisted that the WSL remains as tough as ever. “We went undefeated last season but it wasn’t like we rolled everyone over,” City’s manager said. “The WSL is exceptionally competitive. You never roll a team over. You have to be at your best and perform well. People ask me about dominating the WSL and I don’t feel it. At 3-1, I felt there was a chance we would go on and play extra time.”

In front of a record FA Cup final crowd of 35,271, however, it was never in doubt that City would win the competition for the first time in their history. “I’m ecstatic we’ve won it,” Cushing (left) said. “I’m proud of the players and the performance. We are ecstatic because we hold the domestic treble. At times Birmingham played good football. They will be a really good team in the WSL. But we defended really well and we were clinical.”

Cushing urged his team to keep improving. He added: “One thing I tell the players all the time is they have to be obsessed with winning trophies.”