Championship leaders Leicester stun Bournemouth to reach FA Cup quarter-finals

Posted Wednesday, February 28, 2024 by PA

Substitute Abdul Fatawu scored a stunning extra-time winner as Bournemouth lost 1-0 at home to Sky Bet Championship leaders Leicester.

Fatawu collected Kelechi Iheanacho’s pass on the edge of the penalty area before bending a powerful left-foot shot into the top corner to send the Foxes into the quarter-finals.

Leicester made nine changes from the side beaten at home by promotion rivals Leeds last week but still showed their Premier League credentials.

Dennis Praet had the game’s first shot on target when he put an overhead-kick tamely into the arms of goalkeeper Mark Travers from Marc Albrighton’s lofted cross.

Arjan Raikhy also fired wide from the edge of the box in the opening minutes.

Bournemouth rested top-scorer Dominic Solanke and handed a full debut to January transfer window signing Enes Unal.

Turkey international Unal caught the eye with an industrious first-half display, although his ninth-minute 30-yard free-kick was a touch ambitious as it flew high and wide.

In the 15th minute, Leicester’s stand-in goalkeeper Jakub Stolarczyk had to come quickly off his line to beat Unal to Philip Billing’s through ball.

And three minutes later Hamza Choudhury was on hand to clear Unal’s close-range shot off the line.

Bournemouth midfielder Alex Scott should have done better after being picked out by Luis Sinisterra’s low cross but he blazed over from midway inside the penalty area.

Leicester continued to pose a threat on the counter-attack and Yunus Akgun should have at least hit the target when he headed wide from another Albrighton centre.

The Foxes had another big let-off 11 minutes before half-time as left-back Milos Kerkez drilled a cross-shot towards the six-yard box but Unal could only stab wide.

Albrighton, one of the few survivors from Leicester’s 2021 FA Cup-winning side, was inches away from firing the Foxes ahead in the 41st minute when his low strike from the edge of the area slammed against a post.

Bournemouth goalkeeper Travers then made an acrobatic save to turn Wanya Marcal’s follow-up effort over the crossbar.

In the final minutes of the half, Stolarczyk made a good reaction save to keep out Sinisterra’s header from a corner before Scott put the rebound wide at the far post.

It was Bournemouth’s turn to be denied by the woodwork five minutes into the second half as Marcos Senesi’s long-range curler beat Stolarczyk before hitting a post.

Stolarczyk was called into action again in the 74th minute to beat away Kerkez’s well-struck near-post effort.

Akgun should have won it four minutes from the end of normal time when he found himself one-on-one with Travers but blazed over.

Just as the game looked to be heading for a penalty shootout, Ghanaian Fatawu won it in the final minute of the first half of extra time.