Leicester head into Semi-Finals after win over Blues

In a fiercely competitive match at the King Power Stadium, George O’Neil gave the Blues the lead in the first half.

But Harvey Barnes levelled the Sixth Round tie shortly after the break and Darnell Johnson completed the Foxes comeback in the 88th minute with a back-post header.

Leicester started the match brightly and nearly took the lead inside the opening five minutes, only for Keenan King’s snap-shot to be saved by Jake Weaver.

The hosts went close again moments later as good link-up play down the left between England U19s left-back Ben Chilwell and Brandon Fox drew another smart save from Weaver.

The Birmingham goalkeeper was coming under severe pressure as the Foxes continued to dominate proceedings.

England youngster Layton Ndukwu then saw his curling effort beaten away, while Elliott Moore forced Weaver to tip his header over the bar from a dangerous corner.

However, after 35 minutes of Leicester domination, it was instead Birmingham who took the lead against the run of play through O’Neil.

The striker received the ball from a throw-in and, after skipping past a defender, side-footed home from 12 yards.

That goal was the first Leicester had conceded during this season’s FA Youth Cup and they were nearly two down moments later.

Again it was O’Neil causing the problems, but this time he was denied a second goal by a block on the line from Chilwell.

Leicester had to come from behind to beat Birmingham. Photo courtesy of LCFC/Plumb Images

The half-time break provided Leicester with the perfect opportunity to regroup after a shaky end to the first 45 minutes.

And it certainly seemed to work as four minutes into the second half the Foxes were back on level terms through Barnes’ near-post finish.

With the tie now back on level terms, the two teams seemed to cancel each other out as the game crept into the final ten minutes.

However, with the thought of a Semi-Final spot in their minds, both teams began to push for a winner as the clock ticked away.

First, Fox struck the bar from 25 yards out for Leicester and then Birmingham rattled the woodwork too, directly from Charlie Cooper’s corner.

But it was Leicester who did claim the priceless winner with just two minutes of normal time left to play.

And it was another England youngster who did the damage, as Johnson made himself the hero by rising highest at the back-post to head home Matty Miles’ free-kick.

Leicester will now face the winner of Manchester City and Crewe Alexandra’s tie in the Semi-Final.