Matchday Live Talking Points: Iheanacho's Match-Winning Exploits & Getting The Job Done
- Leicester City defeated Brighton & Hove Albion 1-0 in the Emirates FA Cup on Wednesday
- The Foxes are into the quarter-finals of the competition for the third time in four years
- Matt Elliott, Gerry Taggart and Dean Hammond starred on LCFC Radio's coverage
- The three former City stars provided their analysis and reaction at full-time
Kelechi Iheanacho's header, in the fourth minute of added time, propelled the Foxes into the quarter-finals of the competition to keep City in with a shot of ending their wait to lift the famous trophy.
Speaking at the end of over four hours of free coverage on LCFC Radio, Elliott, Taggart and Hammond provided their expert opinion on an uneventful clash with a nonetheless dramatic conclusion...
An unbelievable ending
Matt Elliott said: “It was unbelievable in the way it finished. I had to look twice because I couldn’t believe any Brighton defenders would leave Kelechi in that much space at that stage of the game. Graham Potter will be fuming, as will all the Brighton players. The Leicester squad will be absolutely delighted on the flip side of that! You could see the joy on Brendan Rodgers’ face and they almost couldn’t believe it themselves that they got through in the final seconds.”
Iheanacho's match-winning exploits
Gerry Taggart said: “We were all absolutely delighted with Kelechi’s goal. If you’re going to score a goal in a game which has limited excitement in it, that’s the way to do it. Well done, Kelechi! I gave him my Man of the Match award on commentary and it’s throughout deserved for that reason alone. That's exactly what everybody needed!”
Brighton's frustrations
Dean Hammond said: “Brighton will be disappointed because they did put in a disciplined display. The plan was to contain Leicester and play on the counter attack. They did that and were really, really good at times. In all honesty, they were probably the better team up until about 80 minutes. They had more half chances and got into better areas, so to concede like that, with such a simple thing, when you’ve put that effort it, it’ll be so disappointing.”
Getting the job done
Matt Elliott said: “To all intents and purposes, it looked nailed on for extra-time. We were all sat here with semi-glum faces. There wasn’t much entertainment over the whole 90 minutes, but what a finish! You’ll take what comes your way. It was an inauspicious performance at times, but they got the job done. The game won’t be long in the memory, but the fact they’re through to quarter-finals is all that matters.”
Cranking up the pressure
Gerry Taggart said: “In the move directly before the goal, [Vontae] Daley-Campbell does brilliantly inside the box. I thought Youri Tielemans took it off his toes, but in those instances, as the defending team, when you know you’re under pressure… you do not switch off. In fact, it should be the complete opposite. You focus and defend the corner and then the game’s over, but they just didn’t.”
Assessing Daley-Campbell's debut
Dean Hammond said: “He did more than fine. He got into some good areas. Defensively, he looked assured. He was comfortable in possession and then, towards the end of the game, he showed his fitness and his strength and conditioning. He defended very well against [Andi] Zeqiri in a one vs. one situation and then, to get in behind, into a progressive position to try and make something happen was really, really good to see.”