Tony Cottee's inspired double strike edged Leicester closer to Wembley and
left Sunderland facing an uphill second leg battle.
But the Wearsiders gave themselves a fighting chance with a late charge which
dampened the premature celebrations of the travelling supporters at the Stadium
of Light.
Cottee flicked home Frank Sinclair's cross before the break and then added a
second with a low shot after 62 minutes to put the Premiership side firmly in
the driving seat.
But Gavin McCann gave the Division One outfit hope with a 75th-minute
free-kick.
Peter Reid's men face the return trip to Filbert Street next month knowing
that the odds are stacked against them, but safe in the knowledge that they have
at least given themselves a chance.
Sunderland were rarely able to break through the Foxes' rearguard, with Matt
Elliott, Steve Walsh and Gerry Taggart in imperious form.
And with Muzzy Izzet
and Neil Lennon running the midfield, victory was scarcely less than their side
deserved.
But the final onslaught was what the home supporters had been waiting for all
night, and proved that the tie is still alive.
Reid made just one change to the
side beaten 1-0 at Blackburn in the FA Cup on Saturday with skipper Kevin Ball,
rested for the trip to Ewood Park, returning.
But Alex Rae's cruciate ligament injury meant that
McCann retained his place in the starting line-up.
Leicester too made changes with joint leading scorer Cottee returning in
attack and Taggart coming in in place of Andy Impey, Greek midfielder Theo
Zagorakis also making way.
The visitors started in determined mood, and never allowed their First
Division opponents an inch of space.
All too often, Reid's side found themselves having to build from deep with
Cottee and Emile Heskey pressurising the man in possession.
It took just eight minutes for Heskey to flex his muscles, turning Paul Butler
25 yards out and earning a free-kick for his pains.
Elliott took charge and blasted a right-foot shot towards Thomas Sorensen's
top corner.
But the keeper pulled off an acrobatic stop to keep the ball out.
Sunderland were struggling to create any real openings, but Niall Quinn
perhaps should have done better after beating the offside trap on 14 minutes
from Chris Makin's ball over the top.
Quinn could only shoot straight at Kasey Keller though from
an acute angle.
But the danger signs were always there, and Butler had to get in a brave
header to deny Elliott from a dangerous Steve Guppy corner 10 minutes later.
The goal eventually came on the half hour, and Sunderland had only
themselves to blame.
Elliott was allowed to run from his own half and find Sinclair down the right,
and when he beat Michael Gray on the outside and drove the ball in to the near
post, Cottee got in front of his man to flick a shot past the helpless Sorensen
with the outside of his left boot.
It could have been two within two minutes when Heskey's strength took him away
from Kevin Ball and Makin on the Leicester left, but his cross-shot was well
collected by Sorensen.
Sunderland striker Kevin Phillips found space for the first time on 38
minutes, but when he laid the ball back to Quinn, his shot was weak and straight
at Keller.
Only a brilliant fingertip save from Sorensen kept out Izzet's header five
minutes from half-time as City threatened to kill off the tie, but that at least
spurred the home side into action.
Winger Allan Johnston finally managed to get a dangerous cross in to the far
post three minutes before half-time, but Phillips, who looked to have a clean
header on goal, instead nodded the ball down for Quinn and Elliott was able to
clear.
Sunderland emerged with renewed vigour after the break, and Makin forced
Keller into a save with a well-struck left-foot effort from 25 yards after he
was allowed to run into space.
Heskey was clearly struggling with an injury, and his night came to a end
after 59 minutes when he was replaced by Stuart Wilson.
The excellent Sinclair
following him two minutes later as Pontus Kaamark got the nod.
But if the travelling supporters feared that they would be weakened, their
anxiety soon turned to delight.
Andy Melville could only block Izzet's 62nd-minute shot and Cottee pounced on
the loose ball to drive a shot past Sorensen's out-stretched arms and into the
bottom corner.
But the home side gave themselves a lifeline with 75 minutes gone when
McCann's free-kick sailed through a crowd of players and somehow ended up in the
back of the net.
Sunderland pushed for an equaliser as time ran out, but although Keller was
always on his toes, he was never really stretched.
Teams:
Sunderland: Sorensen, Makin, Gray, Ball, Melville, Butler, McCann, Clark (Smith 64), Quinn, Phillips, Johnston (Summerbee 64).
Subs Not Used: Craddock, Marriott, Dichio.
Goals: McCann 75.
Leicester: Keller, Elliott, Walsh, Taggart, Sinclair (Kaamark 61), Izzet, Lennon, Ullathorne, Guppy, Cottee, Heskey (Wilson 59).
Subs Not Used: Arphexad, Zagorakis, Parker.
Booked: Lennon.
Goals: Cottee 30, 62.
Att: 38,332
Ref: G Barber (Pyrford).
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