Iheanacho resumes Cup love affair to
Even when his career faltered, the FA Cup proved to be Kelechi Iheanacho’s solace, and now the striker has scored his most precious goal to take Leicester City to the final for the first time in 52 years.
“I think the FA Cup loves me and I love the FA Cup,” Iheanacho beamed afterwards. His strike was the 14th he has scored in 19 games in this competition since 2015 and no player – not Sergio Aguero, Son Heung-min or Harry Kane – has claimed more FA Cup goals during that time. The Cup has become his playground and the Nigeria international looks like he is having fun.
It was enough to defeat Southampton, although the performance from Brendan Rodgers’s side really demanded a greater margin of victory, to set up a final against Chelsea as Leicester attempt to win the FA Cup for the first time in their 137-year history, having lost their previous four finals.
“We have the chance to create history,” Rodgers said. “That is what this game is about, creating a memory. I have been made aware, since I’ve been at Leicester, how important this cup is for the supporters.
“When we arrived here that was the ambition. We said we wanted to be competitive. We wanted to be able to compete and we have been able to do that. Now we have a trophy to genuinely go for.”
In fact, both the weekend’s semifinals ended 1-0 with goals scored in the 55th minute by African players, with Moroccan Hakim Ziyech claiming Chelsea’s only strike in their victory over Manchester City.
For Southampton, with their limited squad and desperate need for investment, this felt like a tie too far in a season when they have run out of gas and, at times, run out of players under manager Ralph Hasenhuttl, who was a picture of frustration on the touchline as his team just could not land a blow.
By contrast, Iheanacho is Leicester’s form player, their top scorer, their “Senior Man”, as he is known by his nickname, but his goal owed everything to a player who would be more suited to that title: 34-year-old Jamie Vardy.
It was Vardy’s sharpness which allowed him to turn superbly on halfway and sprint after Youri Tielemans’s shrewd pass down the touchline. Vardy’s pace was too much for Jan Bednarek and he ran goalwards before crossing inside the penalty area to Iheanacho, who had pulled into space.
His first shot, however, was a weak, hooked volley that was going four yards wide until it struck Jannik Vestergaard on the shins, with the Leicester striker firing home the rebound for his 15th goal of the season – it was also the first, and only – goal Southampton conceded in their Cup run.
Iheanacho has had to bide his time and convince Rodgers who, to his credit, has changed formation to accommodate him and provide a strike partner for Vardy, which may in itself be a good move, given his age.
This semi-final was a test event with 4,000 fans – or rather local residents – in attendance spread throughout the lowest tier of this 90,000-seat stadium. It was great to see them back, although it is obviously not the same with neutrals.
There was a call for the supporters to be on their best behaviour and, maybe, because they were not committed, it led to a more cautious approach. “We saw a not very good football game to be honest, with both teams a little nervous,” Hasenhuttl said. “We left everything on the pitch that was possible for us, but we had no shots on target.”
So it unfolded as a cagey contest, even if it was Leicester threatening and they will believe they should have gone ahead when Vardy ran on to Tielemans’s precise pass and was too quick for Bednarek – not for the last time – only to lift his shot over Fraser Forster but also past the angle of post and crossbar.
Tielemans, who ran the midfield, had already shot wildly before Wilfred Ndidi steered a header across goal and over. From another Tielemans corner Jonny Evans headed back towards Vardy, only for Bednarek to challenge and force the ball over from just under the bar.
Against this, Southampton were disjointed, but they did execute a clever corner of their own, with James Ward-prowse pulling the ball back low across the goal. Ryan Bertrand’s run was smart and he had a sight of goal – but he miscued his shot.
Leicester continued to dominate in the second half and, once ahead, they pressed for a second goal to end any doubt. Two opportunities fell to substitute James Maddison, which would have been a nice slice of redemption after his misdemeanour and with England manager Gareth Southgate watching.
He was teed up by Iheanacho, but sliced over and then went far closer, from further out, with a shot that skimmed past a post.
Southampton did have one chance and it came when Ndidi headed away Stuart Armstrong’s cross, with the ball falling to Ibrahima Diallo. He had time and space to steady himself, but his half-volley flew inches over the bar from the edge of the area.
At the final whistle Iheanacho dropped to his knees and raised both hands in the air in prayer and celebration. The 24-year-old had done it again in the FA Cup. Chelsea have been warned.