By Duro Ikhazuagbe
Former African Footballer of the Year, Victor Ikpeba, has tasked Super Eagles forward, Kelechi Iheanacho, to take his chances when Leicester City play Chelsea in the final of the English FA Cup on Saturday, May 15 at the Wembley Stadium.
Iheanacho powered the Foxes into their final since 1969 with his lone goal against Southampton on Sunday night.
Speaking during Monday Night Football programme on SuperSport, the former Super Eagles forward who was crowned king of African football in 1997, insisted that having come this far, Iheanacho must take his chances against the Blues if he’s to join the elite class of Nigerian internationals like Kanu Nwankwo and Daniel Amokachi who have won the foremost football trophy in the world.
“Iheanacho has shown that he can be relied on anytime Jamie Vardy fails to get the back of the net.
“In his last few games for Leicester City, he has displayed a good sense of goal-scoring and helped the team push for glory in the FA Cup.
“But he must have to take his chances against a Chelsea side that seem to have a tight defence under manager, Thomas Tuchel,” warned the former Monaco FC star.
Earlier, in the euphoria of the final ticket in the bag with his 10th goal in the last seven matches for Leicester, Iheanacho declared his love for the FA Cup.
Since the start of the 2015-16 season, no player has scored more in this competition than Iheanacho, who also struck twice to knock out Manchester United in the last eight.
“The FA Cup loves me and I love the FA Cup,” said Iheanacho. “I was in the right place at the right time. I’ve been unlucky in the past few years but it’s working out well now and I need to go to the next level,” Iheanacho opened up to UK’s Daily Mail.
Jamie Vardy’s brilliant burst and cross created Iheanacho’s strike and the Nigerian added: “The partnership is outstanding. He has pace, he has everything. He set up the goal and I was in the right place at the right time.”
Leicester Boss Brendan Rodgers has also reached his first FA Cup Final after losing to Aston Villa six years ago when in charge of Liverpool. Rodgers also has Leicester in contention for a top-four finish this term.
He said: “The club have been waiting a long time to get to an FA Cup Final. It’s something I’ve been made well aware of and something that means a lot to the supporters.
“We deserved it. We didn’t concede any efforts on goal, and as the game wore on we looked really bright.
“The two of them (Vardy and Iheanacho) are a real threat. Jamie may not be scoring but he gives us so much and Kelechi is such a great guy who is at the top of his game in terms of confidence.”
Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuttl said: “I think we left everything on the pitch today, but we had no shots on target. It was a bit unlucky how we conceded the goal.”
