Leicester FA Cup 4th Round Home Won 2 – 1 AET
Tonda made ten changes in naming his side to face Leicester for the second time in five days; what’s more, the only man to keep his place was Archer, who many would not have selected for either game. This being the Cup, our opponents went down a similar route, but their bench seemed to consist mostly of rested players while ours were mostly from the U21 squad – at least our starters have been the manger’s first choice at some point in the season, the exception being Long, making his Saints debut in goal. Not surprisingly, both sides looked good enough going forward until unable to deliver in the final third. The Foxes did test Long in the 37th minute but the keeper saved well and then was rescued by Manning and the bar from an unlucky rebound off Romeu. Just before half time, though, Edozie drew a desperate tackle for a penalty: Larin stepped up with a confidence that wasn’t misplaced, but you kind of felt he shouldn’t have the job on a permanent basis. The lead didn’t last much into the second period as Skipp scored with a spectacular bicycle kick that maybe Long should have kept out. Edozie, though, was still posing a threat while, after Matsuki shot from the right, Archer looked sure to score until Okoli made a vital intervention. Edozie’s reward was to be substituted, as were Matsuki and scorer Larin, rather suggesting that the club wouldn’t have been that disappointed to lose this one, especially when we ended up with a middle line of starter Bragg, Azaz (OK, he’s a regular) Williams, O’Brien-Whitmarsh and Sillah Dibaga (who did impress), and Oyekunie up front. Lose it they very nearly did at the end of the 90 minutes, but somehow the ball stayed out of th net through some desperate clearing by Quarshie. Extra time meant an extra substitution per side, and the imbalance of experience showed in the first period as Saints struggled to get a kick – but they regrouped after the restart and retook the lead when Manning’s free kick was touched on by a defender to sub Bree whose header beat Stolarczyk, who might have done better. That seemed to knock the stuffing out of the visitors, but credit our youngsters for seeing out the game with remarkable maturity.
Three LSSC Man of the Match candidates to choose from (all played the full 120 minutes):
3. Ryan Manning. A good job as captain-for-the-day, and that clearance onto the bar looks better every time you see it.
17. Joshua Quarshie. His double clearance right at the end of normal time as important as any moment.
48. Cameron Bragg. Had a particularly vital role when Romeu was substituted after the first hour.
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