Report: Saints' young guns prevail in extra time

Cyle Larin’s second goal in three games, a stoppage-time penalty after Samuel Edozie was sent tumbling in the box, gave Saints a half-time lead against the team they defeated from 3-0 down in midweek.

But a home side showing 10 changes from that night was pegged back by Oliver Skipp’s overhead kick early in the second half, taking the tie into extra time.

By now Tonda Eckert had sent on four players from the Academy, but his young charges did him and the club proud, as Bree headed home Ryan Manning’s free-kick in the 109th minute to secure Saints' place in the fifth round.

Cameron Archer was the sole surviving starter from Tuesday’s thrilling comeback victory at the King Power Stadium, as Saints recovered from three goals down to win a match for the first time in the club’s history.

The team news came with a number of headlines and subplots. There was a debut in goal for George Long, a first start for Larin, a first start since returning to the club for Oriol Romeu, a first Saints start in 18 months for Edozie, and a first time captaining the club for Manning.

Leicester, winless in six Championship games since beating Cheltenham in the third round, made six alterations of their own.

It was Saints who seized the early initiative, playing in a special commemorative kit to honour the 50th anniversary of the 1976 FA Cup triumph, with Edozie embarking on a couple of early runs down the left flank.

But debutant Long was the first keeper to be tested, 19 minutes into the game, sent sprawling to his right by Jordan Ayew’s well-struck shot across his body.

When Long parried the ball out to Joshua Quarshie, Saints played their way out of trouble from their own box into the Leicester half impressively.

Oriol Romeu made his first appearance since Boxing Day, and his first Saints start since returning to the club for a second spell

Goalmouth action in the Leicester penalty area was proving hard to come by. Larin showed his confidence by attempting an overhead kick from an Elias Jelert cross, but Archer, partnering the Canadian in an orthodox front two, went for the same ball.

Meanwhile, Romeu rolled back the years by reading the danger on the edge of his own box to poke the ball away from Louis Page with the youngster poised to strike.

Captain Manning tried his luck from a dropping ball just inside the Leicester area, but saw his shot sail into the vacant Chapel Stand.

The Irishman was involved again at the other end eight minutes before the interval, making a goal-saving contribution to maintain parity in the contest.

Ayew’s clever pass released Stephy Mavididi in the inside-left channel, whose low shot was well stopped by the outstretched leg of Long, only for the ball to take a looping deflection off Romeu that took it over the keeper in a freak occurrence.

But quickest to react was the stand-in skipper, as Manning quickly retreated to his own goal line and brilliantly kept the ball out of his own net, craning his neck to head the ball against crossbar and out, ensuring the tie remained goalless.

That was until Edozie’s injection of energy paved the way for Larin to score for the second home game running in timely fashion, breaking the deadlock in first-half stoppage time.

Receiving the ball from Manning on the left touchline, Edozie appeared to have lost possession but did not give it up lightly, regaining control by robbing Skipp on the corner of the penalty area and breezing past Caleb Okoli on the outside, inviting the defender to slide in and trip him for a nailed-on spot-kick.

Up stepped Larin, who confidently swept the ball home, low to the keeper’s right, as Jakub Stolarczyk went the right way but could not reach it.

Samuel Edozie is brought down by Caleb Okoli for a penalty in first-half stoppage time

But Leicester returned from the break with more punch to their play. Quarshie did well to track the run of Ayew and deny the striker a clear sight of goal, before Page fired over from the edge of the box.

The Foxes did not have long to wait for their equaliser, as Mavididi’s 52nd-minute shot deflected into the air and Skipp improvised superbly to beat Long with a bicycle kick inside the keeper’s near post that the debutant may feel he should have kept out.

Now it was Saints’ turn to respond. Edozie carried the ball across the pitch and found Kuryu Matsuki on the right corner of the penalty area, whose low drive was not held by Stolarczyk.

It looked for all the world that the poaching Archer would tap home the rebound, but Okoli got back to get a touch on the ball and divert it wide of the target from just a couple of yards out, as the defender celebrated like he’d scored a goal himself.

Eckert turned to his very youthful bench for the first time just after the hour mark, as 19-year-old Barnaby Williams replaced Romeu and Sufianu Sillah Dibaga, 18, was introduced for his senior debut in place of Edozie on the left.

The teenagers were keen to make an impact. Sillah Dibaga’s first action was to cut inside and hit a low right-footed shot towards the near corner that Stolarczyk was happy to fall on top of, but it underlined a fearlessness in the debutant’s approach.

Then the two combined well when Williams faked to pass and opened up space for himself to drive forward with the ball, right through the heart of the Leicester midfield, before Sillah Dibaga’s cross was not quite taken in his stride by Archer.

Archer was the man sacrificed for Finn Azaz, Eckert’s only experienced attacker on the bench, to be summoned with 15 minutes left.

Cyle Larin scores from the spot - his second goal in three games since his deadline-day arrival on loan from RCD Mallorca

More youngsters followed, with good minutes looking likely as extra time loomed, as Joe O’Brien-Whitmarsh, who last played for the first team at Cardiff in August 2024, and Nick Oyekunle were introduced for their second and third appearances respectively.

O’Brien-Whitmarsh, a relative veteran at 20 years of age, immediately flashed a left-footed shot past the post as the clock counted down towards the 90th minute.

Instead it was Leicester who came closest to preventing extra time with a late flurry, as substitute Harry Winks saw a speculative shot from range deflected wide, before Divine Mukasa headed the resulting corner over the bar.

Then another left-wing corner caused even more problems, as Long got just enough on a near-post flick to push the ball into the air, before Quarshie made two crucial goal-line clearances to keep Saints in the cup.

Saints had 30 minutes to navigate with a front six, the midfield and forwards, all 20 and under, with Azaz the only exception, as Eckert put faith in many of the players he managed at Under-21 level prior to taking the top job in the autumn.

But it was one of his elder statesmen, substitute Bree, who made the difference in the 19th minute of extra time.

As opposite full-back Manning floated a free-kick into the box after good work from Oyekunle, it glanced off a Leicester head and Bree adjusted himself expertly to guide a well-placed header into the net inside Stolarczyk’s near post.

This was a cup tie unlikely to be cherished in quite the same way as Tuesday’s historic comeback against the same opposition, but will be even more memorable for Bragg, Williams, Sillah Dibaga, O’Brien-Whitmarsh and Oyekunle on a special day for Southampton’s proud Academy.

Southampton: Long, Jelert (Bree 103), Wood, Quarshie, Manning (c), Matsuki (O’Brien-Whitmarsh 84), Romeu (Williams 63), Bragg, Edozie (Sillah Dibaga 63), Archer (Azaz 75), Larin (Oyekunle 84).

Subs not used: Peretz, Dobson-Ventura, Sesay.

Goals: Larin (45+1’ pen), Bree (109’).

Booked: Bragg, Manning.

Leicester City: Stolarczyk, Aluko (Ricardo 79), Okoli, Nelson (c), Kristiansen (L. Thomas 67), Skipp, Mukasa, Page (Winks 67), Mavididi (S. Thomas 108), Monga (Richards 87), Ayew (Daka 79).

Subs not used: Begović, Gray, Marçal.

Goals: Skipp (52’).

Booked: Page, Nelson, L. Thomas.

Attendance: 17,359.