Nugent eyes Foxes cup glory

David Nugent believes Leicester City have a realistic chance of reaching their first FA Cup final for 43 years.

Last Updated: 19/02/12 at 13:36 Post Comment   

Nugent: Celebrates after victory

Nugent: Celebrates after victory

The Leicester striker won a winners' medal four years ago when playing for Portsmouth against Cardiff at Wembley and after scoring the winner which knocked out Premier League Norwich on Saturday, he reckons this could be his year all over again.

Nugent said: "I don't want to be greedy but I don't see why we can't get to the FA Cup final now.

"Another game and we are at Wembley in the semis. I'm starting to get the buzz. When I was at Portsmouth, we played Manchester United and beat them 1-0. When you get that buzz of beating a big team, you think you can go on and get to the final. I'm starting to get that feeling again at Leicester. We're enjoying our football and it showed."

Nugent's winner in the 2-1 victory at Carrow Road was the coollest of finishes from a striker who struggled to cope with the demands of the Premier League with Portsmouth after winning his lone England cap when he came off the bench as a late substitute in a Euro 2008 qualifying match against Andorra in Barcelona which he marked with a 93rd-minute goal.

He ended up being loaned out to Burnley before joining Leicester in the Championship last year.

In stark contrast to the fate of his former club Portsmouth, who have entered administration for the second time, things appear to have turned around for the 26-year-old Liverpool lad whose strike against Norwich was his 13th of the season.

He said: "It was a great goal. I have a lot of confidence. Ever since I've come back from Burnley I've grown in confidence. I've got 13 goals now and I'm looking for 20.

"They put us under a lot of pressure but we held out well and we deserved it. I hope this can be a kick-on for our season.

"The fans were awesome. The Cup is a special competition. They sang their hearts out and pulled us through the last 10 minutes."

On the fate of Portsmouth, he added: "Portsmouth is a great club, I still speak to a lot of the lads and the fans there deserve better. With the squad they've got they have a great chance of getting back up the table."

Nugent's big pal at Leicester is Sean St Ledger, who scored the opening goal with a superb header at Carrow Road.

Norwich captain Wes Hoolahan equalised, stabbing home the rebound after his spot kick was saved by Kasper Schmeichel following the Leicester goalkeeper's clumsy challenge on Elliott Bennett.

Norwich had only themselves to blame for the defeat, however, after making four changes from the team which beat Swansea away in the Premier League the week before, including leaving out leading scorer Grant Holt and first-choice goalkeeper John Ruddy.

Norwich manager Paul Lambert was unrepentant, preferring to concentrate on a Premier League campaign which has seen his side rise to eighth in the table within sight of survival.

Lambert said: "It will be a blessing in disguise if we stay in the league. No-one would pat us on the back if we got to the quarter-finals of the cup and got relegated. I don't think the FA Cup is a discredited competition. But I wouldn't have wanted to do well in the FA Cup and get relegated at the end of the season.

"I picked a team I thought would win and that's my fault. We didn't do enough. Leicester deserved to go through and good luck to them. We never performed."

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