Hard Work Got Us Through, Says Albrighton
- Leicester City had to battle to a 2-0 Emirates FA Cup Third Round win against Wigan Athletic, according to Marc Albrighton
- The City winger described wearing the captain’s armband in place of the injured Wes Morgan as ‘an honour’
- Harvey Barnes added to Tom Pearce’s own goal to seal the victory at King Power Stadium
Albrighton, 30, saw his low cross into the box turned into the net by Wigan defender Tom Pearce with 19 minutes on the clock at King Power Stadium, before Harvey Barnes added a second with five minutes of the first half to play.
The message from the City camp, including Albrighton, however, was that they did not reach the performance levels that they have done in recent outings, but did enough to secure safe passage to the fourth round.
Albrighton told LCFC TV: “I think the performance was probably not up to scratch, but I think the main thing today was the result. These games, they’re never easy. Teams come here and make it very difficult. They try and implement their game on us, and this is a massive game for them.
“They try their very best and it’s always tough to get going. There were a lot of stoppages today, with the VAR [checks] and there were a few injuries, so there was no real rhythm to the game. The main thing was to get through to the next round and that’s what we did.
Goals: Leicester City 2 Wigan Athletic 0
Both goals from the Emirates FA Cup Third Round victory over Wigan Athletic at King Power Stadium.
“I think you always have to be professional in these games. If you take your foot off the gas slightly, then you let a team in, and it gives them confidence. You’ve got to not give them that little bit of hope to hold onto, you’ve got to do all the right things and do them well.
“We probably didn’t do the basics today in terms of keeping possession, but we certainly worked hard and that’s what scraped us through.”
The Foxes now sit second in the Premier League table after 21 games, are now into the FA Cup Fourth Round and on Wednesday will contest a Carabao Cup Semi-Final first leg tie with Aston Villa on Filbert Way.
“These are our targets,” said Albrighton. “We’re on track for all of our targets that we set ourselves at the start of the season, so we’ve got to be pleased with that.
“It’s coming off the back, or in the middle, of a very busy period, so the use of the squad has been good for us.
“We’ve used everyone, we’ve needed everyone, and we’ll continue to do so in January.”
After an injury to Wes Morgan in the first period, Albrighton was handed the captain’s armband for the remainder of the tie, and expressed his pride after leading City to victory as their skipper for the majority of the evening.
“I think it’s a couple of times now, and to captain this great club is incredible,” he explained. “It’s something I’m not used to, but it’s always an honour to do so and I’ll look back on that.”
Looking ahead to the clash with his former side Villa, Albrighton added: “It’s going to be a difficult game and it’s going to be a good game.
“The atmosphere will be electric as always here under the lights, so we can expect a big occasion, but we need to again be professional and make sure we don’t slip up and make sure that we get the job done there as well.”