The London City Lionesses sacked head coach Carolina Morace on Wednesday night just a few hours after their Women's League Cup quarter-final with Arsenal was postponed.
The women's team, which was formed in 2019 after Millwall Lionesses broke away from the men's side, made it through to the League Cup quarter-final stage for the first time in their short history.
They were drawn a difficult tie against Arsenal, who currently sit third in the Women's Super League.
Tickets had been sold out for the match, scheduled to take place at Kent stadium Princes Park in Dartford.
Carolina Morace was sacked by the London City Lionesses
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But a deluge of rain in the area led to the match being postponed around 3pm on the day of the match.
And the postponement proved costly for Morace, who now won't have the chance of managing the London City Lionesses for the rescheduled League Cup quarter-final.
The club announced on social media at 7.40pm - when the cup tie would have been underway - that Morace had been sacked.
Their statement read: "London City Lionesses can confirm that we have today parted company with head coach Carolina Morace and assistant coach Nicola Williams.
"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."
It's currently unclear when the cup tie will be rescheduled, but their attention now turns to the FA Women's Cup this weekend.
London City go up against another WSL side in Liverpool on Sunday before returning to league action the following week against Durham.
The Kent-based side are perilously close to the relegation zone in the Championship as they sit 10th.
Carolina Morace joined the London City Lionesses last summer
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Morace, who scored more than 550 goals in the Italian national women's league during her playing career, took over at London City last summer after two years away from the game.
Her dismissal comes just two months after American billionaire Michele Kang purchased the club from Diana Culligan.
Kang made her first foray into sports ownership with American team Washington Spirit back in 2020 and joined the board of directors of French side Olympique Lyonnais last year.
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American billionaire Michele Kang purchased London City Lionesses in December
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She followed up her purchase of London City by stepping into baseball by being part of the group that bought Baltimore Orioles last month.
Speaking after buying London City in December, Kang said: “I want to thank Diane for her vision in establishing LCL in 2019 and for entrusting me with the responsibility to take the club to the next level.
“I see tremendous possibility in this team and look forward to helping the club and the players reach their highest potential.”
