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https://www.theguardian.com/footbal...ity-fleetwood-town-fa-cup-replay-match-report
In years to come, this might be considered the first success of a football revolution. Or, the beginning of the machines taking over and removing the joy from football. Either way, for the first time in the English game, VAR was used to reverse a decision, awarding Kelechi Iheanacho his and Leicester’s second goal.
Iheanacho was the hero on what was at first a tricky night for Leicester and the closing stages could have been pretty nerve-racking had his second not been allowed, an erroneous linesman’s flag corrected by TV replays.
Predictably enough, the managers were split along party lines about the new technology. Claude Puel, previously a VAR sceptic and with a grin playing upon his lips, said it was perfect whereas the Fleetwood manager, Uwe Rösler, was not so certain. “Can they really say it was onside, or are they guessing?” he said. “Sometimes even VAR is not clear. In general – don’t complicate football too much. The game is beautiful. Let it be pure.”
Puel made the standard phalanx of changes with Aleksandar Dragovic and, surprisingly, Riyad Mahrez remaining from Saturday’s draw with Chelsea.
Adrien Silva was one of those to come in: the midfielder, who spent September-December as Schrödinger’s transferee, has made two starts in English football and they have both been against Fleetwood. Presumably, that was not in Leicester’s sales pitch.
The problem with making this many changes is they cease to be a team, rather 11 blokes who work in the same place. Unused to playing with each other, Leicester frequently looked like the only thing they had in common was the colour of their shirts and for much of the first half Fleetwood looked the more threatening.
Conor McAleny buzzed from the left and forced Eldin Jakupovic into a full-length save and the Leicester keeper was forced into action again, tipping an Ashley Hunter shot over the bar.
Hope grew from the visitors but two minutes before the break Leicester took the lead. Iheanacho had hitherto looked like he was playing on roller skates, but just before half-time he brilliantly flicked a hooked Islam Slimani pass with the outside of his left boot and slotted the ball under Chris Neal. This was a faint, rare flicker of that old, now ludicrous sounding debate over who was the better player: Iheanacho or Marcus Rashford.
Iheanacho had the ball in the net again a few minutes after the break, but Demarai Gray had just failed to keep the ball in play from the cross from which our first moment of VAR drama (VARma?) came. The referee, Jonathan Moss, pressed a finger to his ear while the chaps in front of the TVs at Premier League base double-checked it was the right decision. It was and for a while VAR just looked like a disruptive pest.
But then came technology’s moment of redemption. Mahrez slipped a delicious through ball to Iheanacho, who dinked home. Celebrations paused as the linesman raised his flag for offside, but Moss again stood, earpiece forced into his skull like a receptionist in a noisy office, as word came down that the decision was incorrect. The rectangle sign was made, Moss pointed to the centre-circle and history was made.
That wrapped up the tie. “We gave them a right good go for their money,” said Rösler, and they did.
The former Fleetwood hero Jamie Vardy emerged from the bench to the delight of everyone present and the last 10 minutes were spent trying to get him a goal. That did not come, but Leicester go through to face Peterborough in the fourth round.
Cardiff set up an FA Cup fourth-round meeting with Manchester City following a 4-1 win at Mansfield Town, with Pep Guardiola an unexpected visitor to Field Mill. Bruno Ecuele Manga gave Neil Warnock’s side the lead but Danny Rose struck for the League Two hosts before half-time. In the second half, Junior Hoilett scored twice and Anthony Pilkington added another to ensure the Championship side avoided an upset.
Reading beat Stevenage 3-0 thanks to a hat-trick from Jon Dadi Bodvarsson in front of a crowd of fewer than 5,000 at the Madejski Stadium. The hosts were forced to change their strip at half-time to avoid a clash, playing the second half in their orange away shirts. Reading will face Sheffield Wednesday in the fourth round after they saw off Carlisle at Hillsborough. Goals from Marco Matias and Atdhe Nuhiu were enough to earn the new manager Jos Luhukay his first win in a game played in heavy rain and snow.
In years to come, this might be considered the first success of a football revolution. Or, the beginning of the machines taking over and removing the joy from football. Either way, for the first time in the English game, VAR was used to reverse a decision, awarding Kelechi Iheanacho his and Leicester’s second goal.
Iheanacho was the hero on what was at first a tricky night for Leicester and the closing stages could have been pretty nerve-racking had his second not been allowed, an erroneous linesman’s flag corrected by TV replays.
Predictably enough, the managers were split along party lines about the new technology. Claude Puel, previously a VAR sceptic and with a grin playing upon his lips, said it was perfect whereas the Fleetwood manager, Uwe Rösler, was not so certain. “Can they really say it was onside, or are they guessing?” he said. “Sometimes even VAR is not clear. In general – don’t complicate football too much. The game is beautiful. Let it be pure.”
Puel made the standard phalanx of changes with Aleksandar Dragovic and, surprisingly, Riyad Mahrez remaining from Saturday’s draw with Chelsea.
Adrien Silva was one of those to come in: the midfielder, who spent September-December as Schrödinger’s transferee, has made two starts in English football and they have both been against Fleetwood. Presumably, that was not in Leicester’s sales pitch.
The problem with making this many changes is they cease to be a team, rather 11 blokes who work in the same place. Unused to playing with each other, Leicester frequently looked like the only thing they had in common was the colour of their shirts and for much of the first half Fleetwood looked the more threatening.
Conor McAleny buzzed from the left and forced Eldin Jakupovic into a full-length save and the Leicester keeper was forced into action again, tipping an Ashley Hunter shot over the bar.
Hope grew from the visitors but two minutes before the break Leicester took the lead. Iheanacho had hitherto looked like he was playing on roller skates, but just before half-time he brilliantly flicked a hooked Islam Slimani pass with the outside of his left boot and slotted the ball under Chris Neal. This was a faint, rare flicker of that old, now ludicrous sounding debate over who was the better player: Iheanacho or Marcus Rashford.
Iheanacho had the ball in the net again a few minutes after the break, but Demarai Gray had just failed to keep the ball in play from the cross from which our first moment of VAR drama (VARma?) came. The referee, Jonathan Moss, pressed a finger to his ear while the chaps in front of the TVs at Premier League base double-checked it was the right decision. It was and for a while VAR just looked like a disruptive pest.
But then came technology’s moment of redemption. Mahrez slipped a delicious through ball to Iheanacho, who dinked home. Celebrations paused as the linesman raised his flag for offside, but Moss again stood, earpiece forced into his skull like a receptionist in a noisy office, as word came down that the decision was incorrect. The rectangle sign was made, Moss pointed to the centre-circle and history was made.
That wrapped up the tie. “We gave them a right good go for their money,” said Rösler, and they did.
The former Fleetwood hero Jamie Vardy emerged from the bench to the delight of everyone present and the last 10 minutes were spent trying to get him a goal. That did not come, but Leicester go through to face Peterborough in the fourth round.
Cardiff set up an FA Cup fourth-round meeting with Manchester City following a 4-1 win at Mansfield Town, with Pep Guardiola an unexpected visitor to Field Mill. Bruno Ecuele Manga gave Neil Warnock’s side the lead but Danny Rose struck for the League Two hosts before half-time. In the second half, Junior Hoilett scored twice and Anthony Pilkington added another to ensure the Championship side avoided an upset.
Reading beat Stevenage 3-0 thanks to a hat-trick from Jon Dadi Bodvarsson in front of a crowd of fewer than 5,000 at the Madejski Stadium. The hosts were forced to change their strip at half-time to avoid a clash, playing the second half in their orange away shirts. Reading will face Sheffield Wednesday in the fourth round after they saw off Carlisle at Hillsborough. Goals from Marco Matias and Atdhe Nuhiu were enough to earn the new manager Jos Luhukay his first win in a game played in heavy rain and snow.
