On Saturday, the Foxes booked a potentially mouth-watering tie with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge after upsetting Norwich City 2-1 at Carrow Road. The out-of-sorts Blues still need to overcome Birmingham City in a replay, which is by no means a certainty at the moment, but whoever prevails will face a stiff challenge based on this weekend’s performance.
Nigel Pearson’s men secured their spot in the last eight by virtue of goals from Sean St. Ledger and David Nugent either side of Wes Hoolahan’s equaliser.
Following his side’s 3-2 defeat to Watford in midweek, Pearson was looking for a response from his men and he got it almost instantly as St. Ledger rose above Steve Morison to glance a header in at the near post inside five minutes.
Mid-way through the first-half, the Premier league high-flyer contentiously restored parity. Goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel was adjudged by referee Mike Dean to have climbed over the top of Elliot Bennett and Dean pointed to the spot, despite replays showing the Dane got a fist to the ball. He nearly went from villain to hero in the space of a few seconds after saving Hoolahan’s initial penalty, only for the midfielder to smash home the rebound.
Foxes fans feared the worst but, with Beckford and Nugent, they possess a strike partnership with Premiership quality and experience and the pair combined to produce what proved to be the match winner.
From Beckford’s knock-down, Nugent showed off his skills by jinxing past Barnett into the area before applying a cool finish past the keeper John Ruddy. This was after a clever piece of off-the-ball running from Beckford had taken the last defender out of the equation.
The Championship side were able to close the game out fairly comfortably despite Norwich throwing everything at them. It was an accomplished performance showing the true potential of this Leicester City team and why they were tipped by many for promotion this season.
Languishing in mid-table well-below expectations is a bitter pill to swallow for many fans, but a possible trip to Wembley on the horizon is definitely a sweet consolation.
