Leicester City crash out the FA Cup after suffering a 2-1 loss at Villa Park.
The pairing of these two sides in the fifth round of the FA Cup was always likely to be a feisty affair; the two previous Premier League fixtures of the Midlands Derby resulting in a sending off for each side.
However, the bad blood shared between the two sides didn’t particularly seep into the opening of the game in an otherwise uneventful first half.The game was unlikely to produce too much attacking football, given Villa’s appalling scoring record and Leicester shaping up with a five-man defence.
Chances were few and far between in a rather dull first-half. However, Villa were certainly an improvement on the terrible display versus Hull City midweek, playing with a bit more intensity following the sacking of Paul Lambert.
Andreas Weimann should have done better after Alan Hutton squared the ball to him just outside the box, blazing his shot miles over the bar into the top tier of the North Stand.
After that Leicester enjoyed a period of dominance. The three centre backs being launched forward for every set-piece unsettled Villa, both Morgan and Wasilewski coming close to breaking the deadlock from corners.
Matty James provided the closest the game had to an opening goal, latching on to a pull back that Cambiasso cleverly stepped over that was destined for the top corner but for a world-class save from veteran goalkeeper Shay Given.
The only other chance was the disallowed goal form Christian Benteke on the stroke of half time. The Belgian striker just failed to step back onside before sweeping a shot in the far corner of Schwarzer’s goal.
Newly-appointed Tim Sherwood may have proved his initial managerial stripes today, after reportedly heading down to the dressing-room at half time in an attempt to rouse a few of the players.
It may well be worth providing Sherwood with the credit, as Villa came out for the second half completely galvanised, playing with much more intent and dynamism, looking the better side.
Leicester boss Nigel Pearson decided to make a tactical change in response, replacing one of the three centre-halves Wasilewski with striker Leonardo Ulloa and reverting to a more open 4-4-2 formation.
The decision proved costly for the Foxes as Leandro Bacuna opened the scoring a few minutes later, side-stepping Danny Simpson and curling a shot beyond Mark Schwarzer.
The goal breathed life into the game and the stadium; finally an atmosphere was present at what had become a bitterly miserable Villa Park.
The game was blown open, Leicester much more susceptible to a Villa counter-attack. A robust by challenge by Clark in the centre circle released Delph to drive the ball forward. The ball eventually fell to Weimann who swept the ball into the far corner, however once again the goal was disallowed.
Benteke found himself in a one-on-one with Schwarzer, leaving a trailing Matthew Upson in his wake. Unfortunately the striker was unable to settle the home crowd, blazing his shot high and wide.
Villa remained dominant but for a spill form Shay Given that would have landed at the feet of the oncoming Kramaric had the Irish international not recovered quickly and bravely thrown himself at the ball.
Substitute Scott Sinclair added the second goal with less than a minute of normal time remaining. The ball was clipped into him over the top of the defence by Benteke before he rifled a shot in at Schwarzer’s near-post. The Australian keeper, signed on a free transfer from Chelsea, will no doubt be bitterly disappointed with what should have been a bread-and-butter save for a goalkeeper of his experience.
Leicester’s record signing Andrej Kramaric provided a nervy finish to the game, responding to Sinclair’s goal immediately with a precise header dispatched beyond Shay Given.
Sherwood was able to breathe a sigh of relief as Mark Clattenburg blew the whistle, confirming Villa’s place in the last eight of the competition.