As United fans greeted Toone at one end of the pitch, City striker Vivianne Miedema consoled goalkeeper Keating at the other as the full-time whistle blew.
A derby defeat, another dent in City’s faltering WSL title challenge and several costly individual errors meant a nightmare night for 20-year-old Keating.
The England goalkeeper roared in frustration throughout. First, when his short pass to Leila Ouahabi led to Toone’s second goal to make it 3-0, and then when Terland blocked his clearance to make it 4-2 to Toone, it was crucial just seconds after the restart, when the City were looking to move forward after finishing the first half with a lead.
Raising her arms and shouting to the heavens, it looked like Keating’s night couldn’t get any worse, but United fans taunted her behind her goal throughout the second half.
“Time is a healer. She will be fine, she will be sore like all of us,” City boss Gareth Taylor said.
“We win, lose and draw together as a team. There is no individual fault. I imagine she will feel worse.”
It is not the first time Keating has made mistakes, but the young goalkeeper has recovered before, regaining her number one shirt and managing to be selected for England.
He left Meadow Park in tears when his late error helped Arsenal win 2-1 in November 2023 and there was a costly mix-up in their FA Cup quarter-final defeat to Tottenham last year.
But Taylor believes Keating will return again, although competition for his place from summer signing Ayaka Yamashita no doubt adds to the pressure.
“She has shown before [she can bounce back] and he will do it again. “We never put the blame in any direction so I think she will be fine in a couple of days,” the City boss added.
“Although United were aggressive, we played into their game and we have to be better.
“We are not going to become, under my reign, a team that hits the ball or plays a lot. There were moments tonight when there were spaces and we exploited them, but we have to be better at executing our goal kicks.” “.