Nick Cushing chose the dugout over the delivery suite and the manager saw Lucy Bronze score an extra-time winner for Manchester City Women in the Continental Tyres Cup final.

Cushing’s wife Claire went into labour on Sunday morning and the Manchester City manager was with her initially, but he headed to the Academy Stadium for the match against Birmingham City Ladies before the birth of their third child.

He was awaiting news from hospital and an added 30 minutes at work was perhaps not ideal as Manchester City made hard work of their 1-0 victory, seven days after they secured their first Women’s Super League title with a victory against Chelsea.

The decisive moment came in the 104th minute when the Birmingham goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger came for Toni Duggan’s corner from the left but failed to gather. Steph Houghton got a useful flick to the ball, and it was left to her fellow defender Bronze to head into an unguarded net from 10 yards.

After the match, Cushing told BT Sport that he would be rushing to his wife’s side. “I think I’ll be in the hospital all night,” the Manchester City manager said. “I haven’t spoken to my wife but there’s no message on my phone. So I’ll get the medal and then it’s straight off to the hospital.”

The Academy Stadium, next to the Etihad Stadium, had been chosen as the venue for the final before the competition began, and Manchester City’s run through the rounds meant they were playing before a partisan crowd of 4,214 – a record attendance at the venue.