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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Sport
Pa Sport Staff

Kelechi Iheanacho frustrated by Leicester’s missed FA Cup opportunity

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Kelechi Iheanacho admits Leicester City blew their FA Cup chance after a last-16 defeat to Blackburn Rovers.

Tyrhys Dolan and Sammie Szmodics scored to book Rovers a quarter-final spot for the first time in eight years with a 2-1 win on Tuesday.

Iheanacho grabbed a second-half consolation – meaning he has 18 goals in 24 FA Cup appearances – but knows the Foxes missed their chance.

“It’s so disappointing, especially at home,” he said. “It wasn’t good enough. If you don’t do what you need to do, you get punished. Obviously, that’s gone now, we need to look forward to the Premier League, but we need to do more.

“(For the goal) It was a good ball from Barnesy (Harvey Barnes), on the flank, taking it well and working the man, cutting it back. It was the right cross at the right time. Hopefully there’s more to come, but we’re out of the competition now.

“It’s a tough one to take. As I said, we need to do more, to stay in the league and get up there.”

Championship promotion chasers Blackburn have not reached the quarter-finals since 2015 but have now knocked out the Foxes, Norwich and Birmingham.

“We’re in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup and it’s unbelievable,” Szmodics told the club’s official site.

“It’s some feeling and it doesn’t get better than scoring against a Premier League side. Tyrhys probably has the same feeling as me.

“We could have been 4-0 or 5-0 up with the chances we had and we had to hang on towards the end. We showed a mature performance with our young team.

“With my goal I’ve got it stuck under my feet and I think it confused their defenders, there were a few touches in there, a couple of attempted tackles, but to see it hit the back of the net, there’s just no feeling like it.”

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