Leicester City’s Stephy Mavididi (left) and Cheltenham’s Jonathan Tomkinson battle for the ball
Leicester City eased into the FA Cup fourth round as Patson Daka and Stephy Mavididi’s first-half goals overcame League Two outfit Cheltenham.
Far from an excellent performance, City did enough to get the job done, with two moments of quality making the difference, Daka curling in and Mavididi dancing around the Robins defence to score in the highlight of the match.
In front of their first sell-out crowd for 13 years, Cheltenham’s players and fans were up for it, but City managed to come through without any drama, and with the club keeping their first clean sheet in nearly four months.
Marti Cifuentes rotated his group after a busy festive period, making eight changes. Among the fresh faces were Louis Page, in the 11 for the first time since August, as well as Bade Aluko and Silko Thomas, who were making just their second starts for the club.
The Zambian took a touch and then curled the ball into the far corner from the edge of the box. It was a fine finish for his second goal of the season.
City looked much more confident from there and came within inches of a second when Joe Day tipped Jannik Vestergaard’s bullet header onto the bar.
Cheltenham were still a threat on the break, and Asmir Begovic had to get down quickly to save a well-struck Jordan Thomas effort, but City’s extra quality was telling.
Mavididi received the ball, spun Jonathan Tomkinson on the touchline, carried the ball forward, dropped his shoulder to cut inside, with his shot deflecting past Day. It was a superb solo goal and it doubled City’s lead just before the break.
Cheltenham were the better side after the interval, led by tricky winger Jordan Thomas. And he went close when he twisted Hamza Choudhury inside out and attempted to dink the ball over Begovic, the veteran keeper getting fingertips to it.
City did not muster any chances for a third goal until Oliver Skipp’s volley was parried wide in added time, and if there’s a negative from the afternoon, that will be it.
However, they will be in the hat for the fourth-round draw on Monday evening, and that’s the most important matter. Here’s how we scored the players.
Asmir Begovic: He had an uncomfortable moment where he had to boot the ball out of play under pressure, but was strong with his gloves to keep City’s first clean sheet since September, getting down low and jumping high to twice deny Jordan Thomas. 7
Bade Aluko: He was stationed very high up the pitch and provided an outlet, although his final pass was not quite on the money. Defensively, he struggled to keep pace with Jordan Thomas early on, but got to grips with him as the game went on. 6
Ben Nelson: He stepped across to snuff out one early Cheltenham break and was mostly comfortable in his defensive actions. On the ball, there were perhaps a few too many aimless passes in the first half, but he tidied that aspect of his game up. 7
Jannik Vestergaard: He looked a little slow, but it only really cost him in a few hurried clearances and a couple of cheap fouls. Otherwise, he made good interceptions and went close to a goal with a bullet header. 6
Luke Thomas: He got forward really well in support of Mavididi and clipped a few crosses into the right areas that deserved to be attacked. On the ball he was fine, and defensively he did his duties. 7
Hamza Choudhury: Except for the moment he was twisted inside out by Jordan Thomas, he was very steady in every aspect of the game, but did especially well in positioning himself to receive a pass from team-mates and pick up loose balls. 7
Oliver Skipp: It was great to see him get much more involved, even against a lesser opponent. He made lots of interceptions and was more adventurous on the ball, showing greater drive. But he did still give it away a few times. 7
Louis Page: As he’s shown of late, he is a mature head on the ball despite his age and he kept possession extremely well, playing nice passes in tight areas and using his body well to deceive Cheltenham players and buy himself more time. Fans will want to see more of him. 7
Silko Thomas: There was one lovely through ball early on, but also a few moments where he made poor decisions in possession. He made a promising run in the second period and had the composure at the end of it to tee up Daka, but those kinds of dribbles were not frequent enough. 6
Patson Daka: A small piece of movement was enough to free up space and it was a delightful finish for his second of the season. But as a goal threat, there was little else from the Zambian. He ran hard, as usual. 6
Stephy Mavididi: The best player on the pitch. His flicks and tricks seemed half-hearted early on, but it was a great piece of skill and cute pass to set up Daka, and his confidence grew from there, the winger scoring a brilliant goal to double the lead. 8
Caleb Okoli: Everything was a little untidy although, to give him the benefit of the doubt, the pitch was cutting up by the time he came on. 5
Jeremy Monga: He had one fine dribble through tight gaps and across the box, and he picked up more positions inside the area than usual, but he didn’t threaten too much. 5
Jordan Ayew: He couldn’t quite capitalise on an error from Day, forced by his pressing, and he didn’t threaten besides that. 5
Wanya Marcal: He was only on the pitch for a couple of minutes, but still managed one excellent run down the flank. N/A
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