2-2 v Leicester City - 10 January 2016 - Home

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Spurs 2

Leicester City

Leicester City

2

  • Wasilewski
    19'
  • Okazaki
    48'
Details
Match Number

7157

Opposition
Leicester city

Leicester City

Opposition Level

1

Competition
Fa cup

FA Cup

Round / Leg

Round 3

Original Match

Season

2015/16

Date

10th January 2016

Kick Off

16:00

Venue

White Hart Lane

Attendance

35,805

Referee

Bobby Madley

Weather at Kick Off

7.2° - Clear

Facts & Milestones
  • 7121st overall match (3386 wins, 1573 draws, 2149 losses)

  • 5544th competitive match (2483 wins, 1305 draws, 1756 losses)

  • team

    108th match vs Leicester City (55 wins, 19 draws, 34 losses)

  • competition

    422nd FA Cup match (216 wins, 103 draws, 103 losses)

  • 6515th match in England (3050 wins, 1469 draws, 1983 losses)

  • 2949th match at White Hart Lane (1727 wins, 635 draws, 587 losses)

  • 8th consecutive match with a goal scored

  • 5th consecutive match without losing

  • There were 7 changes to the starting lineup from the last match.

Report

Harry Kane's controversial late penalty kept Tottenham in the FA Cup as the striker's equaliser earned a third-round replay against Leicester.

Kane scored from the spot after Nathan Dyer had been penalised for handball, to the visitors' anger.

Christian Eriksen had put Spurs ahead, with a low drive after keeper Kasper Schmeichel parried Nacer Chadli's shot.

Marcin Wasilewski's header levelled before substitute Shinji Okazaki weaved into the box and fired Leicester ahead.

Leicester City goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel was booked in the aftermath of referee Bobby Madley awarding Tottenham a penalty in the 89th minute.

The ball struck Nathan Dyer's hand as he turned to attempt to tackle Danny Rose in the penalty area.

Former Wigan midfielder Kevin Kilbane told BBC One: "It is harsh but it was hand to ball - Nathan Dyer has flicked his hand out at the ball going past him."

But ex-England striker Alan Shearer and Republic of Ireland manager Martin O'Neill both disagreed.

"I think that's a very poor decision - it's not a penalty at all, Nathan Dyer doesn't even know where the ball is. It's very harsh," said Shearer.

O'Neill added: "I agree with Alan, it's a very harsh penalty - Nathan Dyer has just turned round and doesn't know where the ball is. Doesn't it have to be deliberate?"

Some would argue Wednesday's Premier League meeting between the sides is a lot more important than an FA Cup third round tie, with both still in contention for the top-flight title.

The managers appeared to agree with Leicester making eight changes and Spurs seven from their last league outings, but there was no lack of desire from the players involved.

FA Cup: Christian Eriksen opens the scoring for Tottenham Despite Spurs missing the likes of Harry Kane and Dele Alli initially, and Leicester being without Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy entirely - the two sides produced an enthralling contest.

Tottenham's intent was clear as they brought on top scorer Kane with 24 minutes left and Alli followed soon after, while Leicester's anger at the final whistle was again evidence of how much it meant.

Spurs had 74% possession but, despite having 24 shots to Leicester's 10, they rarely threatened Schmeichel's goal.

Leicester went into the match having failed to score in their last three matches - after netting in each of their previous 21 games in all competitions - and with just two points from their last three league games.

With top scorer Vardy injured and playmaker Mahrez rested, the visiting fans must have feared the worst, especially when Eriksen put Spurs ahead early on.

But, perhaps fortunate to be level at the break through Wasilewski with lone striker Leonardo Ulloa isolated, the Foxes were rewarded for a more adventurous second-half approach.

Debutant Demarai Gray, a £3.7m signing from Birmingham, created Okazaki's equaliser and almost scored with a wicked 20-yard shot, and his 64-minute display showed glimpses of the pace that will cause Premier League defences problems.

It was the half-time introduction of Okazaki that added more attacking threat, although for the majority of the game Leicester were content to soak up pressure and hit Tottenham on the break.

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino: "I am happy because it was a draw and this is an important competition for us. A defeat would not have been fair, a draw is a bit more fair but if you analyse the full 90 minutes then we deserved more.

"I'm happy with the performance and we made a great effort."

Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri: "I didn't see the penalty, there were two players in front of me, but the more important thing is that the referee gave the penalty so it is a penalty.

"I'm very pleased with our performance. We had eight players who had not been playing for some time, but now they played and they deserved a positive result - 2-2 is a positive result."

Timeline
KO

Marcin Wasilewski

15'

Marcin Wasilewski

19'
HT

Shinji Okazaki

48'

Kasper Schmeichel

89'
FT
Location
Highlights
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