Crystal Palace striker Bruce Dyer capitalised on uncharacteristically poor
Leicester defending to score a hat-trick which fired the Eagles into the FA Cup
fifth round draw.
Dyer could even afford the luxury of seeing five other chances either saved or
miss as Palace finally gave Selhurst Park something to celebrate.
Palace have not won a Premiership match at home this season and when the
fourth round draw was made, many fans may have preferred the tie to have been at
Filbert Street.
But although Leicester dominated large chunks of the game, they could not cope
with the pace and clinical finishing of Dyer.
His first goal for the relegation threatened side came on 32 minutes against
the run of play after Palace keeper Kevin Miller had pulled off two important
saves from Emile Heskey.
Dyer capitalised when Leicester centre-back Matt Elliott, who was with Palace
as a youngster, failed to clear a hopeful ball forward.
Dyer dispossessed Elliott but still had considerable work to do as Kasey
Keller came out and when he rounded the keeper, he initially seemed to have
taken the ball too close to the byline. But just as a cross seemed inevitable,
Dyer struck the ball into the far corner with aplomb from the tightest of
angles.
Before the break, Keller performed heroics to keep his side in the game, first
parrying a powerful header from centre-back Hermann Hreidarsson and then diving
to his left to deny Dyer as the in-form striker broke free.
After the break, Leicester went back on the offensive, playing some attractive
possession football and Palace were forced into some desperate defending at
times - just as in the opening 30 minutes.
They were indebted to Miller, who pulled off a reaction save to deny Ian
Marshall after the centre forward had drilled in a powerful volley from six
yards out.
But just as Leicester, who equalised in the 90th minute to secure a draw in
the league match between the two at Filbert Street in December, looked like
getting back into the game, Dyer struck again.
Once more Elliott was at fault as he and Keller both rose to meet a cross and
the ball skimmed off the Scottish centre-back's head and fell to the unmarked
Dyer, who scored in the corner despite mishitting his shot from close range.
That was on 61 minutes and just four minutes later, Dyer completed a hat-trick
with a stunning shot.
He was yet again given far too much space and time in the area as he latched
onto a through ball, composed himself and fired in a pinpoint shot that dipped
over Keller's head and clipped the underside of the bar.
He even had four late chances to increase his tally for the season to eight
but put one just over after a weak backpass from Elliott and saw the other three
go narrowly wide.
Leicester's misery was complete when first Miller saved from Robbie Savage and
then, at the end, Heskey showed great skill to advance into the Palace area but
hit an appalling pass behind substitute Tony Cottee who had looked to have the
goal at his mercy.
Crystal Palace: Miller, Edworthy, Gordon, Roberts, Linighan,
Dyer, Brolin, Smith, Ismael, Hreidarsson, Fullarton.
Subs Not Used: Nash, Quinn, Boxall, Ginty, Martin.
Booked: Ismael.
Goals: Dyer 33, 62, 66.
Leicester: Keller, Walsh, Izzet, Lennon, Parker, Heskey, Savage,
Kaamark (Cottee 70), Elliott, Marshall (Wilson 80), Guppy.
Subs Not Used: Prior, Fenton, Arphexad.
Booked: Izzet, Lennon.
Att: 15,489
Ref: P E Alcock (Redhill).
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