A late goal from Kelechi Iheanacho sealed a hard fought 1-0 against Brighton and Hove Albion and sent Leicester into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, Completesports.com reports.
It was Iheanacho’s second goal in his last three games for Leicester after netting in the 2-0 away win against Fulham.
Iheanacho, who replaced the returning Jamie Vardy in the 62nd minute, scored in the 94th minute to send Brendan Rodgers’ side into the last eight.
The Super Eagles star jumped highest to head in Youri Tieleman’s cross from a quickly taken corner.
Also in action for Leicester was Wilfred Ndidi who returned from injury and was in the starting eleven before going off for Hamza Choudhury.
Earlier on Wednesday Manchester City booked their place into the quarterfinals after beating Swansea 3-1.
Kyle Walker, Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus were the scorers for City, while Morgan Whittaker got Swansea’s goal.
By James Agberebi
7 Comments
A good header by Nacho.Apparently,the last league goal he scored was through a header,Nacho is using his head very well lately,I hope he could use that head too to make a good career decision because you are too good to waste on the bench because Vardy isn’t retiring anytime soon neither does it look like he’s quitting Leicester so Nacho you have to decide and put in a transfer request in the summer.
Playing second fiddle to Osimhen was because you are not ambitious otherwise Osimhen should be the one playing from the bench if you have made the right choices a few years back.Though the super eagles number 9 position is there for the taking.Osimhen isn’t at his best form after a lengthy injury,the transfer windows is over but more goals like you did today in the next few weeks will put you in a poll position to get the nod to start either as a top striker or in a twin attack formation in Benin republic and Lagos respectively.
I don’t even see Napoli releasing Osimhen for the next qualifiers after his last 2 visits to Nigeria has caused them a lot. They have not gotten close to their Return on Investment on Victor and besides he is not back to his best. So Kelechi may likely lead the attack with Onuachu as backup in the March games.
I would leave out Osimhen If I were the super eagles coach.He is not up to speed,at least not yet and still vulnerable besides African football can be very physical with little protection coming from the match officials.
So I would suggest he got left out,after all we need him at his best.The likes of Nacho is in good match form,I think Ighalo should be on the list of invitees because a fit Nacho and Ighalo is as good as a fit Osimhen.I’m sure that’s what is going through Gernot Rohr’s head,he needs players who are proven to get the job done.You can’t underestimate Benin and Lesotho especially after the shock we got from Sierra Leone,if there’s one thing we have learnt after that horror in Edo state it’s to take every team seriously henceforth.
@Greenturf… Exactly what I was thinking this morning. After Osimhen’s hefty transfer, he really has not done much for Napoli. It will be very unwise for Rohr to invite him again as being not 100% fit, injury could be risked. Let Rohr for once trust other attackers doing well and invite them. Umar Sadiq has played in Seria A, Serbia, Eredivisie and now Spanish Segunda Liga… With the likes of Olayinka, Dennis, Iheanacho, Moffi, Awoniyi and Onuachu we do not need an Ighalo anymore, also, Victor Should be allowed to reach his optimum performance level at Napoli before we disturb that young man again… I will also suggest Rohr looks for someone else to play in Chukwueze’s place… These guys hustling them back and hurling them into the thick of African crunchy games may be counterintuitive and disastrous for now…
Keep scoring, and proving that you can lead the line for Leicester. the Super Eagles number nine position is up for the taking. Although I dont see you as a natural number 9, your doing a decent job in that position. You will probably get an invite to the National team for the next round of games but your starting as a STRIKER depends on what formation the coach uses or the players at his disposal.
Brendan Rodgers has declared unequivocally that Iheanacho is nothing but an out-and-out centre forward. I am starting to see him just as that but I see where you are coming from. On a good day, Iheanacho’s ‘vision’ as a striker will be put to optimum use if he has a strike partner up front; not just as a sole centre forward.
He is starting to pick up form at just the right time. If he keeps this up, he will make a strong case for his inclusion to the list for March qualifiers.
His header yesterday was sublime: creating acres of real estate for himself deep in the 18 yard box, Iheanacho generated enough power with his header to seal deal after evading the goalkeeper.
We need more headed goals in the national team. It is a welcome development to see Iheanacho score back to back headers. It spaes well for what he brings to the Super Eagles if invited.
Iheanacho picking form now is good but also bad news for those expecting the likes of Sadiq or Awoniyi to make the list. He will successfully block their chances with the new found form. And as we all know, Rohr will always prefer the known to the unknown in a qualifier. As for me let him choose the best leg as at now.