Leicester show character in FA Cup amid investigation over coach’s conduct

Following the suspension of manager Willie Kirk, Leicester responded with performance of ‘resilience and character’

Leicester City showed “resilience and character” to make FA Cup history after they were rocked by manager Willie Kirk’s suspension, his assistant Jennifer Foster said.
Leicester beat Liverpool 2-0 to reach the semi-finals for the first time in their history less than 24 hours after news first emerged they are investigating an allegation that Kirk had a relationship with a player. The 45-year-old is yet to comment but has been contacted for a response by Telegraph Sport.
Foster said she only found out on Friday that she would be taking charge of the team but insisted she had treated it as “business as usual”, and said her players’ strong display was “never in doubt”.
“I couldn’t be more proud of the players,” Foster said. “We spoke about making history and, with the training week that we’d had, we’d prepared, so it was never in doubt for me, in terms of the performance that we’d get from the players.”
The club said on Friday that Kirk is assisting them with an “internal process” and added the outcomes of which will be determined in “due course.”
Asked about the situation at full-time, Foster said: “This squad are brilliant, and the resilience and the character we showed, that was never in doubt for me, I knew they were going to come out and perform. I couldn’t have asked for anything else.”
Foster, who was unexpectedly thrust into the spotlight, added: “I found out yesterday and, for me, it was just business as usual. As the assistant, I’ve been asked to step up and take charge of the team today and that’s what I did and that was all my focus.
“Look, these players are experienced enough to know when to deal with changes or anything else, so for me, they just got their heads down and knew exactly what to do. The fact that we had a great training week meant there was nothing different for us. Their preparation was exactly the same.”
Leicester’s players announced their arrival at Prenton Park with Kaiser Chiefs’ ‘I predict a riot’ blasting from the away dressing room.
Back in the dressing room after the match, stewards at the Merseyside ground described the noise as the loudest they could recall.
Both Leicester goals were scored by Finland’s Jutta Rantala, with her first coming in the first half on the rebound after Janice Cayman had hit the post. Austria’s Marie Hobinger hit the woodwork for Liverpool, but in the second half, Leicester struck again. Rantala’s ruthlessly taken second appeared to take a slight deflection off Grace Fisk before going in off the underside of the crossbar, directly in front of Leicester’s travelling supporters.
Former Bristol City, Everton and Hibernian manager Kirk has been Leicester’s manager since November 2022, having previously worked as their director of football. He guided the club to safety in the top flight last term, escaping the drop after initially taking over when they were at the bottom of the table. His side are currently seventh in the WSL- 10 points clear of the relegation zone.
In Saturday’s late kick-off, Manchester United eased to a 4-0 away win at Brighton to book their place in the semi-final draw alongside Leicester.
Goals from centre-back Millie Turner, striker Nikita Parris, winger Lucia Garcia and midfielder Lisa Naalsund comfortably sent last season’s beaten finalists into the last four of the competition for only the second time in Manchester United’s history, with a much-improved performance.
The Women’s FA Cup is the only realistic prospect Manchester United have a lifting a first major women’s trophy this season, following their exits in Champions League qualifiying and in the group stages of the League Cup earlier this season, because they are 12 points behind Women’s Super League leaders Chelsea in the table.