London City Lionesses postpone match against Arsenal – then sack manager

London City Lionesses have sacked head coach Carolina Morace, when the club should have been playing the first half of their Women’s League Cup quarter-final with Arsenal.

The last-eight tie scheduled to kick-off at 7pm was postponed mid-afternoon because of a waterlogged pitch, after Princes Park in Dartford had failed a 2.30pm pitch inspection.

However, the Women’s Championship club then unexpectedly parted ways with Morace and her assistant Nicola Williams, announcing the news at 7.40pm when the team would still have been playing their cup-tie first half.

The Kent-based team are 10th in the Championship table, the second tier of the pyramid, and lie above the relegation only on goal-difference, level on points with 11th-placed Watford.

London City Lionesses were purchased by Michele Kang, the owner of American NWSL club Washington Spirit, in December, and the American businesswoman has high ambitions for her new club.

Morace, 59, had been in charge since July 2023, but her team were winless in their past six league games, losing five of those.

However, they had enjoyed a good run in the League Cup, topping a group that also contained Crystal Palace, Lewes and Watford to earn their quarter-final meeting with holders Arsenal. They are also hosting Liverpool in the fifth round of the Women’s FA Cup on Sunday 11 February.

Morace is widely regarded as one of the greatest players to have ever represented Italy’s women’s national side, having scored 105 goals in 150 caps for her home country.

She has previously managed Canada, Italy and Trinidad & Tobago’s women’s teams, as well as enjoying good spells in charge of Italian clubs Lazio and AC Milan, plus she has coached in the men’s game.

London City Lionesses added in a statement: “The club would like to place on record its thanks to Carolina and Nicola for their contributions this season; we wish them all the best. Darren Smith, who joined London City as First Team Goalkeeper Coach in August, will take up the position of interim head coach.”

Elsewhere, last season’s finalists Chelsea were comfortable 5-0 winners at home to Championship side Sunderland, as Sjoeke Nusken and Fran Kirby both scored twice either side of a tightly-angled effort from England youth international Aggie Beever-Jones. Chelsea had received a bye to the quarter-finals thanks to their participation in the Women’s Champions League.

Manchester City booked their place in the semi-finals as Yui Hasegawa’s long-range strike was enough to clinch a 1-0 win at Tottenham, while the greatest drama - on the pitch -  came in the tie between Brighton and Aston Villa, which went to penalties after a 1-1 draw. Brighton missed all four of their spot-kicks in the shootout, with Daphne van Domselaar saving three, before Villa eventually won the shootout 2-0. Their progression comes after they were given something of a reprieve at the end of the group stages, qualifying as Group A’s runner-up despite fielding an ineligible player in a 7-0 win over Sunderland that was declared void.