FA Cup: Leicester City 3-0 Birmingham City – Jamie Vardy helps Foxes reach fifth round

Jamie Vardy scored his first goal in more than two months to help send a much-changed Leicester City into the fifth round of the FA Cup with victory against fellow Championship side Birmingham.

But former England striker Vardy met a Marc Albrighton cross immediately after the break to head the Foxes in front with their first effort on target.

And while the talismanic 37-year-old had a second goal disallowed for offside, well-taken strikes from Yunus Akgun and Dennis Praet ensured the 2021 FA Cup winners and run-away Championship leaders progressed.

Influential midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall – Leicester’s joint-top scorer and leading assist provider this season – attracted plenty of attention even though he was not involved in the tie, as reports emerged overnight that Brighton are in talks to sign the 25-year-old.

And only three days after Hamza Choudhury was charged for drink driving, he was the only Leicester player to retain his spot in the starting 11 after Monday’s draw with Ipswich Town.

Fit-again Vardy was among the 10 changes, as he came in for his first start for more than two months after recovering from a knee injury.

Despite 19 places and 34 points separating the two sides in the Championship table, it was Birmingham who almost completely controlled the first half at the King Power Stadium.

Keshi Anderson, who Blues boss Tony Mowbray brought in as one of only three changes, was quick to threaten the hosts with a shot across goal that called Stolarczyk into action.

A heavy touch from Vardy at the other end, as he tried to link up with debutant Brandon Cover, then allowed visiting goalkeeper John Ruddy to race off his line to clear a rare first-half hint of danger.

Stolarczyk then went on to make a series of fine saves before the break, foiling Jordan James, Anderson, Siriki Dembele and Stansfield, who also had a shot on the turn come off the post.

It was the combination of two players who featured in Leicester’s historic FA Cup final win of 2021 that broke the deadlock, with Vardy finding the bottom corner with his header from a pinpoint Albrighton cross.

The goal – and a triple half-time change which brought James Justin, Ricardo Pereira and Kasey McAteer on – transformed proceedings.

And Vardy was celebrating again in the 55th minute when he rounded Ruddy to roll the ball into an empty net, but his joy was short-lived as the referee’s assistant flagged for offside.

There was no disputing Akgun’s finish, as the on-loan Galatasaray winger hammered home his first Leicester goal before Praet met a cut-back pass from Tom Cannon to complete the victory with a first-time finish.

Leicester City manager Enzo Maresca told BBC Radio Leicester:

“I’m very happy because it is a difficult competition, as we saw today with results (non-league Maidstone United beat Championship side Ipswich Town).

“I was not happy with the first half. But also it was something we were expecting in terms of many changes and many young players, so it is normal to struggle a bit.

“But it’s unbelievable for the club when in the first team you have seven or eight players from the academy. That is something to be proud of and I’m so happy for the young players.

“The second half was much better. First half, we were not playing in the way we are used to playing. We were just giving away the ball after two or three passes, this is not our way. It was about keeping the ball.”

Birmingham City boss Tony Mowbray told BBC WM:

“Players worked so hard first half. You could see it in the dressing room at half-time – they were all panting hard.

“90 minutes of that and we will get there. The identity of what we are going to bring and what we are going to do is starting to show through.

“We have been here two-and-a-half or three weeks, but they have to buy into it and keep going.

“And the lads sitting on the bench have to, when they come on, bust their backsides to show they deserve to be part of it moving forward.

“I was disappointed with that in the last 20 or 30 minutes really – we almost gave up on a game and you should never be doing that. We showed in the whole of the first 45 minutes how dominant we could be against Leicester.”