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London City Lionesses came from behind to overcome Crystal Palace and advance to the Continental Tyres League Cup Quarter-Finals for the first time in our history.
While it was Elise Hughes who broke the deadlock for the visitors in the 15th minute, the Pride produced a spirited fightback in the second-half, with Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah scoring twice to fire Carolina Morace’s side to a memorable victory on home soil.
“First of all, I’m happy because several players who don’t usually play many minutes had the opportunity to start and they all played very well,” explained the Italian.
“We played in the same shape as usual, so all of the players understood what they had to do and it was a pleasure to see them excel. We fell behind in the first-half, but we reacted well and we kept playing in the same way.”
Morace made a handful of line-up alterations on Wednesday [24 January] evening, with Leanne Cowan, Niamh Farrelly, Tianya Alexander, Izzy Groves, and Boye-Hlorkah returning to the starting eleven.
Nicole Douglas also featured amongst the starters, earning her debut just one day after joining from the Washington Spirit.
Boye-Hlorkah levelled for London City in the 57th minute, arcing the ball beyond the reach of Natalia Negri from the 30-yard mark.
The 28-year-old doubled-down just seven minutes later when she snapped a driven shot into the net at the near post.
Alexander, who played a starring role throughout, provided both assists.
“It was amazing,” Morace said of Boye-Hlorkah’s performance.
“For the first one, I knew it was in immediately after she took the shot. Chantelle did very well and we are happy to have a player like her. I think everyone played very well today, I am very proud of the team.”
The Club will debut in the Conti Cup Quarter-Final draw on Friday [26 January] at 18:30, live on BBC One.