Foxes Kel off Albion hopes at the death
SUBSTITUTE Kelechi Iheanacho struck deep into stoppage-time to send Leicester into the FA Cup quarter-finals at a freezing King Power stadium last night.
The Nigerian, brought on for an ineffectual Jamie Vardy just after the hour, headed home Youri Tielemans’ cross in the fourth minute of added time to settle a forgettable contest played out in sub-zero temperatures.
Top-scorer Vardy, working his way back to full fitness after injury, had started for the Foxes but was a peripheral figure.
Taking the gloss of Leicester’s late celebrations, however, were injuries to forward Ayoze Perez and defender James Justin – not what boss Brendan Rodgers needed with his side having a busy schedule ahead.
Until Iheanacho spared everyone extra-time, the Foxes had been subdued while Brighton, understandably after recent wins over Tottenham and Liverpool, were not short of confidence.
Neither side could manage a shot on target in the opening 45 minutes, with Adam Lallana blazing high over the bar and Andi Zeqiri also volleying over for the visitors. Perez’s night ended after
an hour when he hobbled off with a shin injury – part of a triple Foxes substitution by an unimpressed Rodgers.
The game, at last, did spark into life with each side having a goal disallowed for offside in the space of a minute – Brighton’s Zeqiri and Leicester’s Cengiz Under seeing their efforts chalked off.
Justin was then taken off on a stretcher after falling awkwardly when unchallenged.
Home keeper Danny Ward saved from Zeqiri before Under brought a near-post block from Christian Walton as Leicester conjured the best move of the game. And with the seconds running out, Brighton switched off at the back and Iheanacho nodded home the winner.