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  6  Vlad CHIRICHES
  4  Younes KABOUL (c)
21  Federico FAZIO
  3  Danny ROSE

29  Etienne CAPOUE
19  Mousa DEMBELE  (18  Harry KANE 87)

17  Andros TOWSNEND    (23  Christian ERIKSEN 64)
  8  PAULINHO
11  Erik LAMELA

  9  Roberto SOLDADO  (10  Emmanuel ADEBAYOR 70)

Unused subs: 
24  Brad FRIEDEL
33  Ben DAVIES
15  Eric DIER
25  Benjamin STAMBOULI

 

17  Danny SIMPSON
  5  Wes MORGAN
18  Liam MOORE       (27  Marcin WASILESKI 28     )
  2  Richie de LAET

  4  Danny DRINKWATER
10  Andy KING

  9  Jamie VARDY  (35  David NUGENT 73)
40  Andrej KRAMARIC       (11  Marc ALBRIGHTON 73)
15  Jeffrey SCHLUPP 

23  Leonardo ULLOA       

Unused subs: 
12  Ben HAMER
  3  Paul KONCHESKY
19  Esteban CAMBIASSO
24  Anthony KNOCKAERT
 

After a number of games where Spurs had scored late goals, they fell to the same sucker punch, as Leicester City gained FA Cup revenge for the league defeat on Boxing Day.  It was another example of Tottenham taking the lead and failing to finish the opponent off, with Leicester coming strong towards the end with several chances before scoring twice in the last seven minutes.

The side that gained a difficult 1-0 win over Sheffield United saw several changes, with Kane, Stambouli, Dier and the ever popular Adebayor dropping to the bench, while Kyle Walker did not feature in the 18.  In came Capoue, Soldado, Paulinho, Rose, Chirches and the fit again Lamela.

Leicester kicked off and the opening five minutes was cagey, with each side putting a cross into the box, but with no threat.  The first effort of the match came from Brazilian midfielder Paulinho, who struck a dipping shot from 38 yards out, but it always looked like it was not going to drop enough to trouble debutant Schwarzer in the Leicester goal.  The visitors did a bit better in the 10th minute, when Schlupp's left wing cross low into the six yard box was met with a good contact from new signing Andrej Kramaric.  His shot went to Vorm's right, but the Dutch keeper threw himself that way and got a strong hand to it to push it wide of the goal.  It was a high class reaction save, worthy of the man who was also absent from the squad today - Hugo Lloris.

Paulinho was playing the more advanced of the three attacking midfielders and had another shot on goal when a corner fell to him outside the box, but, once more, his volley cleared the bar.  Spurs could easily have conceded in the 17th minute, when Vorm came to their rescue once more.  Schlupp was showing Townsend that the Spurs winger wasn't the only one with some pace, as he broke into the box and hit a rising shot that the Spurs keeper helped on it's way over the bar with a fine save.  The game was moving from end to end, but not in a cup-tie way, but with slower build-up by Spurs and on the break by Leicester.  After a passage of passing, Erik Lamela played a pass along the floor to Soldado, who looked to turn, but was unceremoniously dumped on his arse by Liam Moore, the young Foxes central defender.  Referee Madley pointed to the spot and Andros Townsend once more stepped up to knock in his second penalty of the week, sending Schwarzer the wrong way from the spot.  With 18 minutes gone, Tottenham had the lead, perhaps a little against the balance of chances up to that point.

Soldado was looking confident today, with a neat flick over his head in the centre circle which took him away form two blue shirts, until Moore fell all over the back of him, earning the Leicester man a booking and an injury that saw him substituted to round off a miserable 25 minutes for him.  The game itself was a little ragged until Roberto laid the ball out to the left, where Danny Rose put in a low cross that Townsend couldn't get on the end of, but the clearance hit a defender and went into the air, allowing Lamela to strike a powerful volley that caught substitute Wasilewski in the head without him knowing much about it.  In the next foray on Leicester's goal, Capoue tried to replicate his goal in the Burnley Cup replay, but only found the advertising hoarding under the Park Lane Upper stand, but Soldado did better when Paulinho put him in with a shooting chance from the right of the box and he brought a low save from the keeper with a well struck drive.  Roberto worked Schwarzer again a couple of minutes later, with a toe poke at goal after exchanging passes with Paulinho.

The opposition were starting to push forward, as Spurs stepped off the gas, with Vardy putting a shooting opportunity too high with a curling shot after the ball fell kindly for him and then, five minutes before half-time, a straight ball through the middle of our defence saw Kramaric run away from Fazio and as he got into the box, Vorm came out and the Croatian went down.  I thought it looked like a penalty, but referee Madley pointed the other way and gave the Foxes' record signing a yellow card for diving.  At the speed it happened from where I sat, it looked as though there was contact, but I could be wrong.  Shortly after, sub Wasilewski followed Kramric into the box for a crude foul on Soldado.  From the resulting free-kick, Townsend put the bal into the box, from where it was cleared to Chiriches, some forty yards out and he tried a shot that got a deflection for a corner.  Like so many other set-pieces in this half, nothing came form it as poor deliveries failed to get the ball into dangerous positions.

When Spurs kicked off the second half, I felt that an early goal might make things more comfortable and Soldado almost produced that with an low shot seconds after the re-start that caught Schwarzer unaware, but the Leicester keeper was relieved to see the bal only his the side-netting.  Vorm had to deal with three early balls into the box, the most dangerous being de Laet's cross that the keeper held safely under the crossbar.  Tottenham's build-up became more methodical, producing only a shot from 25 yards out by Lamela, but it went over the bar.

Ten minutes into the second half, Ulloa had a good chance, but from a corner, he headed the ball downwards into the ground and it bounced up for Vorm to catch comfortably.  Then, from a Spurs corner, Leicester broke quickly and a better pass would have sent Schlupp through on Vorm, but it went wrong and was picked off.  Soldado played Lamela in on the left side of the area, but as he went to shoot, he lost his footing and the ball popped up gently for Schwarzer to take at his ease.  At the other end, Kramaric had a shooting opportunity from a tight angle and blasted high over the frame of the goal.  At this point, Pochettino brought on Eriksen for Townsend, but it failed to stem the attacks Leicester were having, as King glanced a free header wide from a right wing cross from Drinkwater and the Wasileski did the same from the same player's ball in.  When Ulloa headed Schlupp's cross wide, it looked as though the equaliser was just a question of time. 

Lamela showed good footwork to bamboozle his marker before putting in a low cross to Paulinho, who took a touch and with two Leicester defender closing him down could only squeeze his shot just wide of the post.  Adebayor had come on to the customary booing, replacing Soldado, who got a good round of applause on his exit, but he was involved with the build up with Eriksen to Tottenham's shot on goal by Lamela, forcing the keeper to a low save.   The Argentine was keeping Schwarzer busy again a few minutes later, when he came in off the right wing to curl a shot at goal that the goalie kept out with a full length diving save.  In between, Ulloa flattened Capoue and then seemed intent on getting sent off with two quick fouls following his booking for the first offence.  It would have helped Tottenham's cause if that had happened, as Leicester started to step up their game.

Paulinho was robbed of a chance by Simpson, as Rose played him into the penalty area and then he put a header wide from Adebayor's cross, while in between, Chirches made a last ditch interception to stop Drinkwater's pass finding Schlupp beyond him.  With seven minutes remaining on the clock, Leicester equalised and it was danger man Ulloa who got it.  A corner was cleared to Schlupp just outside the area left of centre and his low shot was stopped by the Leicester forward, who turned and hit his shot beyond Vorm's dive low to his left.  It had been coming and it was a sloppy piece of defending by Tottenham, but the striker took his chance well.

At this point, Spurs needed to settle and start playing again, but panicky clearances handed the ball back to Leicester and handed them the initiative.  While Dembele had a shot straight at the keeper and Adebayor shot wide from Chirches cross, the tide had turned Leicester's way and when Lamela struck a free kick from just outside the right hand corner of the box way into the Paxton crowd, you felt it was going to be Tottenham's last chance.  A minute after the 90 was up, Simpson was sent away down the Leicester right and his low cross was met with a volley from Schlupp.  It didn't have power and looked as though it wouldn't threaten the Spurs goal, but as the Foxes man hit it, it was sliced and as it bounced in front of Vorm, the ball almost spun like a leg break and went over the keeper's dive and he couldn't grab it, only helping it over the line for Leicester's late winner.

Spurs threw Chirches forward and threw long balls into the Foxes box, but there were the wrong sort of Foxes in the box, leading to all the attacks being repelled.  Even the introduction of Harry Kane couldn't save us this time and while Lamela tried to weave his way past three blue shirts, he was crowded out and Leicester had the passage to the Fifth Round that sent their fans into a blue haze of flares being let off.

Tottenham were really the architects of their own downfall.  Playing much of the game at a tempo that allowed Leicester to get men back behind the ball, making our own opportunities harder to come by.  I suppose that the last thing we needed was another match a draw would have produced, but it is disappointing to go out of the FA Cup with such a tepid performance. 

If Poch was saving players for Wednesday night's second leg of the League Cup semi-final at Sheffield United, let's hope it pays off.

Kirk Hammerton

Kaboul had a great first half, winning the ball ahead of Leicester's strikers, but he was massively less effective in the second, leaving a lot of work for the other defenders, who perhaps were more used to Vertonghen being there. 

I know these days you have to shuffle to pack, but it perhaps indicates that there is still a bit more quality needed in the side ot perform on four fronts.