Tottenham 1 Leicester City 2
An injury-time mistake by goalkeeper Michel Vorm allowed Leicester through at Spurs' expense, in the fourth round FA Cup match yesterday. Vorm had been keeping well up to that point and made several eye-catching saves during the game, but it will ultimately be remembered for the gaffe that cost his side a replay, as his side lost two goals in the final ten minutes.
Tottenham added themselves to the list of big name sides to crash out on Saturday, yet it had all looked so different for them when Andros Townsend had converted a first-half penalty to put them ahead on the day.
The England winger's fourth goal of the season (all penalties in different competitions) on 19 minutes, came as a result of striker Roberto Soldado being brought down in the area by Liam Moore.
Vorm had saved brilliantly early on to keep out efforts from Leicester's club record signing Andrej Kramaric and Jeffrey Schlupp, before the breakthrough for Spurs from Townsend. Leicester also had good right to feel aggrieved before the break when Kramaric looked to have been brought down by Vorm, only for the referee Robert Madley to dismiss the claims for a penalty and book the young Croatian instead.
The second-half continued to see the away side gamely battling to draw themselves back into the tie, as a number of half chances came and went.
Spurs too had chances of their own to wrap the result up long before the end, but first saw Paulinho shoot just wide after Erik Lamela had set him up, and then the young Argentinian himself be denied by the alert debutant Mark Schwartzer (aged 42) in the Leicester goal.
Only seven minutes remained when Leonardo Ulloa struck for the visitors for his ninth of the season, to set Spurs' nerves jangling again.
After Schlupp's initial mishit shot had hit him, he showed a wonderful touch before firing home low past Vorm. It seemed likely to drift towards a replay back at the King Power Stadium until Schlupp's volley from a Danny Simpson cross was mishandled by Vorm and the ball trickled agonisingly over the line. Two-one to the Foxes at the final whistle and Spurs' fans were once more denied a fifth round match in the Cup, for the third successive year.
Leicester fans can continue to dream of Cup success, as their side battles with the more immediate task of escaping the relegation places.
