Andoni Iraola admitted Bournemouth had missed a golden opportunity to book a place in the FA Cup quarter-finals for only the third time in their history after losing 1-0 at home to Sky Bet Championship leaders Leicester’s reserves.

Despite making nine changes, 2021 winners Leicester progressed thanks to substitute Abdul Fatawu’s stunning extra-time winner.

Iraola, whose Premier League Cherries had 26 shots on goal, said: “It is disappointing and it was a bad night for us because at the end it was the worst thing that could happen.

“We played 120 minutes with very tired legs.

“We had a lot of chances but you have to make the right decision at the end; with the last pass, last shot, and we finished a lot of shots very high.

“I think it’s an opportunity missed.”

Bournemouth left top-scorer Dominic Solanke out of their matchday squad as he was struggling with illness and he was badly missed.

Both teams had chances to win the game in normal time, with Marc Albrighton hitting a post for Leicester in the first half and Bournemouth defender Marcos Senesi doing likewise in the second.

Hamza Choudhury also cleared an Enes Unal shot off the line in the opening half.

Yunus Akgun should have won it for the visitors four minutes from the end of normal time when he found himself one-on-one with Mark Travers but blazed over.

Just as the game looked to be heading for a penalty shootout, Ghanaian Fatawu won it in the final minute of the first half of extra time.

FA Cup debutant Fatawu collected Kelechi Iheanacho’s pass on the edge of the penalty area before cutting in on his left foot and burying the ball into the top corner.

Bournemouth keeper Travers got a hand to the shot but was powerless to keep it out.

Leicester boss Enzo Maresca was pleased with the way his much-changed side bounced back from Friday’s 3-1 defeat at home to promotion rivals Leeds.

Maresca said: “We are happy because tonight we missed many chances, but at the end we have been lucky because we could score one goal.

“We try always to share minutes in this kind of game because all of the players deserve the chance.

“Tonight was a mix between many young players and some senior players and in the end, we played a good game.

“The FA Cup is a fantastic competition so when you have the chance to go forward it’s a good one.

“The league is important, the FA Cup is important, but the most important thing for me is the way we perform. Tonight, once again, the performance was good.”

Enzo Maresca conceded Leicester rode their luck en route to booking their place in the fifth round of the FA Cup with a 3-0 win against Birmingham.

Birmingham spurned a number of first-half chances before Foxes striker Jamie Vardy opened the scoring after 47 minutes with his first goal in over two months from Marc Albrighton’s cross.

Yunus Akgun smashed his first Leicester goal into the top-left corner from the edge of the penalty area after 72 minutes before Dennis Praet sealed the win two minutes from time with a confident finish from substitute Tom Cannon’s cutback.

Maresca said: “We were lucky in the first half, they had many chances. The second half was much better, we controlled the game and made some tactical adjustments.

“A big part of the final result is down to Jakub (Stolarczyk’s) saves in the first half, that gave us the opportunity to still be in the game in the second half.

“(The first goal) was like 2016, it was fantastic, I’m happy for Jamie because it’s always important for a striker to score goals and also happy for Marc for the assist.

“I’m especially happy for the seven or eight players young players we had in the squad from the academy, I think it’s something historic.

“We expected to struggle a little bit because of the changes and playing many young players but we struggled because we were not playing in the way we like to play with the ball.

“I was very calm (at half-time), I was ready for the first half, it’s normal that we struggled with 10 new players in the team.”

Blues manager Tony Mowbray could not believe his team were not in front at the break after a number of good chances went begging as he suffered a first defeat as Birmingham boss.

Mowbray said: “We could have been four-nil up, maybe five, at half-time, we squandered some pretty good chances, in the end their quality showed.

“We’re trying to create an identity, there were plenty of positives in the first half, the changes we made didn’t help us.

“It felt as if we were making changes and becoming less effective and they were making changes and becoming more effective.

“The second goal was a real killer for us, the game ran away from us.

“The players have seen the identity and how hard they have to work, if they don’t bring it they won’t be playing, they either want to come on the journey or they don’t.

“Who can criticise anybody for the first-half performance? Everybody did their job and a bit of somebody else’s job and the rewards were there for all to see.

“It was difficult to comprehend that we didn’t come in winning the game at half-time but we had to accept it and try and repeat it but we couldn’t.”

Marc Albrighton has signed a new three-year extension with Leicester City, the club announced on Friday.

Albrighton, 31, featured 42 times across all competitions last term as Brendan Rodgers' men secured their first ever FA Cup win by defeating Chelsea in May.

The midfielder, who has racked up 253 appearances at the club, joined from Aston Villa in 2014 and played a key role in the Foxes' unlikely Premier League title win under Claudio Ranieri in 2015-16.

Speaking to the club's media after extending his contract, Albrighton said: "I'm delighted. Obviously, it's a club that is progressing every single year. It's a fantastic club with the people here and the direction that they're going – it's great to be a part of.

"I have always been the type of player and person who wants to establish himself at a club and stay there. I'm settled here and I'm really enjoying it."

During his seven-year spell at Leicester, Albrighton has established himself as one of their most consistent performers, if not always the star of the show.

Most notably, during Ranieri's title-winning season, only Riyad Mahrez (68) created more chances than Albrighton's 62 as he repeatedly caused problems on either flank with his enticing deliveries.

Indeed, in his 31 Premier League appearances last season, Albrighton provided 38 chances – a total bettered only by Youri Tielemans (49) and James Maddison (51).

The former Villa man was also Leicester's first Champions League scorer when he netted away at Club Brugge before producing the decisive, quarter-final sealing strike against Sevilla later in the 2016-17 competition.

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