Anthony Knockaert’s stoppage time winner sealed the win after Matty James and Andy King had scored in the first half, and with Bolton failing to beat Blackpool in a 2-2 draw at the Reebok, City booked their semi-final against third-placed Watford, starting at King Power Stadium on Thursday.
“It was a good outcome, there’s no doubt about that,” Pearson told Foxes Player after the match.
“It was always going to be a tough day for us because we had to win, albeit reliant on other results but going into today there was an outside chance and I think the players put in a really good performance under the circumstances.
“To come away with the three points today I think was a great effort.
“We had to take chances, we put the game at risk and could have lost it in the final stages, but we always looked like scoring goals.
“It was one of those situations where we had to find a win from somewhere and with it being a local derby as well put a different dimension to it, but I thought the players coped well with the pressure.”