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Cork bow out as O'Brien snatches winner

by Noel Spillane
Finn Harps 1
Cork City 0
DONAL O'BRIEN emerged the hero as he sent holders Cork City crashing out of the Harp Lager FAI Cup in this second round replay at Ballybofey last night.
O'Brien's match-winning goal sent Finn Harps' biggest crowd of the season into raptures.
The ex-Derry City midfield star scored with a diving header from Thomas Mohan's cross to beat the near invincible Noel Mooney in the 82nd minute and at a stage in the match when both teams were almost resigned to extra-time.
Cork lost possession on half-way and when Mohan picked up the loose ball to run at the visitors' defence, the home crowd were on their feet sensing a dramatic end to this Cup tie.
Brian Barry-Murphy tracked Mohan and with Declan Daly coming across as extra cover, the ex-Derry City winger whipped over a terrific cross to the far post where O'Brien launched himself at the ball to beat Mooney low down at the post.
Finn Harps, who on the balance of play deserved last night's victory, now meet Kilkenny City in the quarter-finals next month.
The tribal drums boomed out a warning at Finn Park last evening and Cork City's goalkeeper Noel Mooney was certainly tuned in.
The 22-year old gave possibly the best first half performance of his career to almost singlehandedly repel rampant Harps in the opening quarter.
Mooney made a string of magnificent saves to deny James Mulligan an early hat-trick.
Roared on by their biggest crowd of the season, Harps totally over-ran City in midfield, were first to every ball and their slick passing game had Cork in retreat from the kick-off which was delayed for 15 minutes to allow the huge crowd into the grounds.
Harps carved out four great chances inside the opening 13 minutes and they had genuine claims for a penalty turned down as early as the second minute when Mulligan went sprawling in the box under Mooney's challenge.
Dublin referee Gerry Perry waved play on and that caused uproar among the home support.
Cork, with no Pat Morley in their side, were almost totally reliant on goalkeeper Mooney as Finn harps threatened to overrun them.
The first of Mooney's wonder saves came just four minutes in when he dived to stop Mulligan's 20-yard blast. Then he saved again from the same player after the ball took a deflection off Derek Coughlan's heel.
Brian Barry-Murphy came to the rescue after 13 minutes as Harps' whirlwind start continued. It took a timely tackle from him to block a goal-bound shot from Mulligan again before John Caulfield and Declan Boyle were both yellow carded midway through as the rain poured down for the first time in the match.
At last, Cork began to weather the storm. They looked more settled and they also succeeded in taking the sting out of Harps' enterprising play and, more importantly, out of a buoyant home crowd.
Cork won the corner count 5-0 to half time but it was 32 minutes into the game before Caulfield's lay off set up Ollie Cahill for their first real chance but he lifted the ball high over the bar.
Cork, with Greg O'Halloran and Barry-Murphy retained in the full back positions, had Dave Hill in central midfield and Caulfield, in Morley's enforced absence, led the line with Noel Hartigan.
The playing surface was vastly improved from the drawn League match back on January 16 and as a result last night's knock-out action was fast and furious and far better value for money for those paying £6 for the privilege of sitting in the main stand.
Cork introduced Mark Herrick for Hill after 62 minutes and he nearly scored with his first touch as Brian McKenna was momentarily caught unawares.
Cork's best chance of the night fell to Kelvin Flanagan 20 minutes from time. Caulfield and Barry-Murphy were involved in the build-up play and when the latter curled a deep cross to the far post Flanagan's header ended up on the roof of the net.
It was nip and tuck and play was fragmented for much of the remaining time before Harps made a double substitution bringing in Shane Bradley and John Gerard McGettigan for Mulligan and McGrenaghan after 74 minutes.
Cork had another half chance when Caulfield slid in but failed to connect with Hartigan's cross with ten minutes to go and two minutes later Cork's world fell apart when O'Brien swooped to score the precious match-winning goal.
Ollie Cahill had a late header touched onto the post and out for a corner with five minutes to go and in added time, McKenna saved again from Caulfield.
Referee Gerry Perry's final whistle was greeted by wild scenes of jubilation in the stand and a pitch invasion as the Harps players sank to their knees.
FINN HARPS (4-4-2) McKenna; R. Boyle, Dykes, D. Boyle, (capt) Minnock; Mohan, O'Brien, Harkin, McGrenaghan; Speake, Mulligan. Subs. Bradley for Mulligan and McGettigan for McGrenaghan (both 74 mins).
CORK CITY (4-4-2): Mooney; O'Halloran, Daly (capt) Coughlan, Barry-Murphy; Flanagan, Hill, Freyne, Cahill; Hartigan, Caulfield. Subs. Herrick for Hill (62 mins) Glynn for O'Halloran (85 mins).
Referee:. G. Perry (Dublin).

Defeat a bitter pill to
swallow for Barry

by Noel Spillane
CORK CITY manager Dave Barry was unable to conceal his disappointment at last night's FAI Cup exit.
"It took us a long time to get our hands on the Cup, but now we have relinquished it again. I am disappointed with that because I felt we controlled the second half," said Barry.
"Finn Harps hit us with a sucker punch with just eight minutes to go and while we went close to snatching a draw, we never really recovered from that blow. The corner count over the 90 minutes showed us to be well on top but a goal out of nothing has won the day for Finn Harps."
"We can focus in on the League now and catching St. Pat's. The defending champions are just two points clear with ten games to go and its all to play for in the championship race. The hardest job I have now is to lift morale before we play Derry City at Turners Cross on Sunday," he added.
Finn Harps manager Charlie McGeever threw down the gauntlet to his players after their hard-fought win.
McGeever said that having beaten the Cup holders it would be criminal to lose to first division hopefuls Kilkenny City in next month's quarter-final tie at Buckley Park.
"I'm delighted with tonight's result, but we must adapt the same attitude in the next round against Kilkenny," said McGeever .
"The goal that won the match came out of nothing but that's the way it is in Cup football sometimes" he said. "We probably sat back too deeply in the last few minutes and that allowed cork go close to snatching an equalising goal, " he added.
"All our matches with Cork have been very close affairs and tonight was no ifferret. There was always only going to be a goal in it and a late but great goal got us through" , said the Glasgow-born McGeever.
•Longford Town grabbed their first league victory since November when they defeated the first division's bottom club St. Francis 2-0 in Longford last night.
The home side sealed the points with goals in the 18th and 85th minutes from Stephen Kelly and Steven Gain.

Gibson's goal proves
too much for UCC

UNIVERSITY College, Cork were beaten 1-0 by Ulster University Jordanstown on day two of the Collingwood Cup at the University of Limerick yesterday.
The only goal of the game came after 15 minutes play when Garret Gibson volleyed home a great shot following a corner.
Several players were booked and UUJ's Paul McCann was sent off for a second bookable offence.
The top scorers of the day were Dublin Institute of Technology, who beat St. Patricks Drumcondra 5-2, while UUC beat Magee 4-0.
University of Limerick, who are hosting the tournament for a third time and who have yet to win the title, went under by the only goal of the game to NUIG.
The goal came after 73 minutes when Alan O'Donnell scored from ten yards.
UL's Jason Carey was sent to the line by the referee and four more of their players were booked as was Galway's Peter Waldron in a really competitive affair.
Queens University, with a goal by Mark Sterling after twenty two minutes, beat DCU 1-0, while the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland lost 3-0 to Dublin University who led 2-0 at the interval. Yesterdays results:
Dublin University 3 RCSI 0, UUC 4 Magee 0, UCD 2 St. Marys 2, Queens University 1 DCU 0, Dublin Institute of Technology 5 St. Patricks Drumcondra 2, NUIG 1 UL 0, UUJ 1 UCC 0.

Keegan's loyalty to Fulham brings England job talks near to deadlock

by Mark Bradley
THE Football Association were last night facing a delicate balancing act in their attempt to find a compromise solution to entice Kevin Keegan into taking up the England coach's post.
Despite insisting they were making progress, the FA have still not resolved the situation after two days of talks with Keegan, and further meetings of their international sub-committee are planned for today.
The major stumbling block for the FA appears to be Keegan's outright insistence that he is determined to see out the 16 months left on his contract at Fulham.
A proud man who considers his word, let alone a signed contract, as his bond, Keegan has publicly made it abundantly clear that he will not desert the Second Division club.
Unless he can be persuaded into a dramatic change of heart, the FA must decide just how far they will bend to accommodate him, with talks also understood to be centring on the relative powers he would have alongside technical director Howard Wilkinson.
But given that the FA initially announced a decision was likely to be announced last weekend or early this week, the fact that talks are still continuing would seem to indicate the depth of the problems they are facing.
While Keegan has publicly committed himself to his Fulham contract, acting FA chairman Geoff Thompson has insisted the England job cannot be done on a part-time basis for longer than the next few months.
Indeed, it is difficult to see much room for compromise, save for one side backing down, given the gulf that would appear to stand between them.
While admitting a pull towards England, Keegan insisted on Sunday: "I am not going to walk out on (chairman) Mohamed Al Fayed, or Fulham, or the supporters and these players."
Only last Thursday, he further maintained: "I am staying at Fulham for the next year and a half. When loyalty in football is under question, I can show that contracts really do count."
Contrast that to Thompson's assertion in an interview yesterday, when he said: "We are happy for Kevin Keegan to work with both the FA and Fulham, but we would want his position with his club resolved in the summer because we don't want a part-time manager in the long term."
Trying to find space for compromise between those two opposing standpoints is what has no doubt been occupying the minds of the FA's five-man international sub-committee.
Unless there is a rather serious U-turn by either side, the only short-term solution may prove to be bringing Keegan on board on a part-time basis until June and then re-addressing the situation.
In many ways it would be unsatisfactory but at least it would give both sides some breathing space and by that time the FA would have appointed a full-time chairman and chief executive.
The FA may then hope that Keegan would have developed a passion for the job, especially if he was successful, that would push him towards admitting he simply could not turn his country down.
Thompson gave a clue towards that possible outcome when he added: "We would like him initially to take the England team for the Poland game; then we would like him to oversee our two ties in the summer and then resolve his long-term future."
Apart from any salary or compensation issues, another reason for delay may also involve Keegan's apparent desire to establish his remit and powers in relation to FA technical director Wilkinson before he takes charge, even on a temporary basis.
Keegan may want to ensure that he retains overall control of squad and team selection, that he can bring in his own number two and backroom staff and that Wilkinson should not sit on the England bench at internationals or attend training sessions.
Former England colleague Trevor Brooking told BBC Radio 5 Live: "Kevin's got his own views and wants to be in charge of something if he's running it, like he is at Fulham."
Keegan has shown in the past at Newcastle that he is ready to walk away if the terms are not completely right and he is not given full backing.
In that scenario, England would have to turn to the likes of Martin O'Neill, Roy Hodgson, Bobby Robson or Wilkinson, even though all of them now know they would be fall-back options.
The FA seem to be finding out that it was rather easier to dismiss Glenn Hoddle than to appoint his long-term successor.

Iversen super strike sends
Graham back to Wembley

Wimbledon 0
Tottenham 1
(Tottenham won 1-0 on aggregate)
by Bill Pierce
GEORGE GRAHAM has the scent of Wembley in his nostrils again after a spectacular goal by Norwegian striker Steffen Iversen emerged from another dour scrap with Wimbledon and put Tottenham into the Worthington Cup final.
It means another glory day for Graham six months after his controversial return to North London from Leeds and a return to the pot-hunting days he enjoyed at Arsenal with six major trophies in eight years including two League Cups.
Once more, he has led a team to Wembley in his first season in charge. But as the 54-year-old Scot celebrated with his team, who have not won anything since the FA Cup in 1991, sad Wimbledon had to accept the heartbreak of another narrow failure.
Two years ago, they thought they had done the hard work by securing a goalless draw in the away leg of the Coca-Cola Cup semi-final at Leicester only to go out on away goals with a 1-1 draw at Selhurst Park.
This time, Spurs needed no such technicality, only the hard graft and unbending resistance which Graham has introduced to an under-achieving side, plus Iversen's flash of genius.
That came six minutes before the interval when the striker made the most of a lucky bounce off Wimbledon defender Kenny Cunningham who thought he had done enough to foil a Les Ferdinand raid. The ball bounced off the Irishman's leg to Iversen who was standing in an offside position but did not stop to argue the point. Instead, he measured an inch-perfect lob from the corner of the area which sailed over goalkeeper Neil Sullivan and just inside the far post.
And as the ball had reached Iversen via a Wimbledon man, referee Gary Willard had no hesitation in awarding the goal.
In truth, despite their second-half pressure, Wimbledon rarely threatened to retrieve the situation. But their marathon series of matches against Spurs in three separate competitions could have had an extension in the last minute when skipper Robbie Earle's rocket shot from the edge of area beat Ian Walker and clipped the crossbar on its way over.
Michael Hughes had seen his shot from similar range deflected over the top 22 minutes earlier, and then Marcus Gayle put a shot wide from similar distance.
But it was Iversen who was the hero for Spurs as Wimbledon managing director Sam Hammam consoled disappointed boss Joe Kinnear. Both had to recognise their battling side were again not quite good enough to master a reviving Tottenham team in which centre-backs Sol Campbell and Ramon Vega were pillars of strength.
Both goalkeepers made an excellent save apiece in a fast-paced first half, but it was Spurs who showed the extra touch of quality in the heat of battle. Iversen's goal ensured there would not have to be a penalty shoot-out to decide who meets Leicester or Sunderland next month.
Dons began and finished with a familiar aerial bombardment, but the barn door of Spurs' defence stayed firmly shut as Graham's side extended their unbeaten run to a dozen matches, eight of them draws.
Earle's mis-kick eight yards out in the opening six minutes showed what might have been, but his goal in the drawn FA Cup game last month at Selhurst remains the only one Wimbledon have scored against Tottenham in the five-match series between the clubs. Neil Sullivan was the first goalkeeper to be brought into serious action, flinging himself to turn away Ferdinand's shot on the turn after Iversen helped on Darren Anderton's 13th-minute chip into the box.
Then, within a minute Justin Edinburgh's arrowing cross from the left sent Ferdinand in search of goal again, but he was unable to direct his header on target.
Wimbledon employed some sharp, one-touch passing to open up a channel on the left, and Jason Euell's powerful drive from the edge of the box was tipped over the bar by Walker's athletic stretch.
Those efforts, and Iversen's winner, apart it was largely another indifferent spectacle between two London teams who must now know each other inside out.
Even the charismatic Frenchman David Ginola was a peripheral figure, but Spurs had other qualities to put Wimbledon in the shade — and in just about sufficient supply to earn the Wembley date on March 31.
WIMBLEDON: Sullivan, Cunningham, Perry, Blackwell, Thatcher, Earle, Ekoku (Leaburn 80), Roberts, Gayle, Hughes, Euell (Kennedy 79).
TOTTENHAM: Walker, Carr, Freund, Nielsen, Anderton, Ferdinand, Edinburgh (Sinton 65), Ginola (Young 85), Vega, Iversen, Campbell.

• OTHER RESULTS:
Nationwide Division One: Norwich 0 Barnsley 0, Watford 1 Huddersfield 1.
Division Two: Wigan 3 Notts County 0.
Division Three: Darlington 0 Hull 1, Swansea 2 Brentford 1.
Auto Windscreens Shield: Millwall 1 Gillingham 0 (After extra time: score after 90 minutes 0-0, Millwall win on Golden Goal Rule).
Scottish League, Division Two: Alloa 1 Clyde 0, Livingston 1 Arbroath 0, Forfar 2 East Fife 4.
Division Three: Brechin 2 Montrose 3, East Stirling 4 Albion 1.

Red Devils won't faze Kanu

by Bill Pierce
ARSENAL'S new Nigerian Nwankwo Kanu will not be fazed by having to make his Premiership debut against the Gunners' title rivals Manchester United tonight.
Highbury winger Marc Overmars, at least, is convinced of that as he reflects on his and Kanu's part in Arsenal's controversial FA Cup fifth-round winning goal that never was against Sheffield United on Saturday.
Both Overmars and Kanu have apologised for breaking the unwritten law of sportsmanship in combining to score Arsenal's second goal against the Blades, while embarrassed manager Arsene Wenger felt duty-bound to make the offer of a replay which was quickly sanctioned by the Football Association.
Even so, Overmars and Kanu can expect a rough reception from the Old Trafford crowd, but the Dutchman promised: ''it will not be a problem. Kanu and I both know we did not mean to do something wrong. It was purely a reflex reaction and it took about 20 seconds to realise what had happened. We are both happy that there is to be a replay of that game so that we can win it properly. There is no problem tomorrow night. I am sure the Manchester United supporters will do everything they can to support their team, but we can accept it.''
Overmars believes £3 million giant Kanu, who looks set to replace suspended Dennis Bergkamp and make his league debut in possibly the most defining match of the title campaign so far, will be a major handful for United — including Jaap Stam, the Arsenal winger's Holland team-mate who he admires so much. ''I played for two years in Holland with Kanu for Ajax and he is a big, big talent,'' said Overmars.
''People over here who perhaps do not know too much about him yet will soon see how good he is.
''His arrival at Arsenal is going to be very good for Nicolas Anelka and myself because he is such a different type of player. He can play in midfield as well as in attack and out wide — and his height is a big plus at set-pieces.
''He is coming in at a very important time, but the pressures of this game certainly won't worry him.'' The 6ft 5in forward, whose career was in the melting pot three years ago when he needed heart surgery to correct a faulty cardiac valve, has soon become a key figure for Arsenal boss Wenger, who is without midfield star Emmanuel Petit through suspension. Wenger knows United will be thirsting for revenge on the Gunners, who took their title last term, and said: ''it is a huge match for us. Last season when we went there we felt we had to win to have a chance of winning the championship, but this season Chelsea and Aston Villa are involved as well. The difference with United now, though, is that they are in a great run of form and scoring so many goals, particularly through Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole.
''This time last year they had lost a little bit of their efficiency for a while.'' Wenger has captain Tony Adams and full-back Lee Dixon back from the head injuries they sustained in England's dying cause against France last week, but Martin Keown is still out with hamstring trouble. Stephen Hughes looks set to deputise for Petit after Remi Garde damaged an ankle in Saturday's cup tie.
Overmars thinks the key to the game will the defensive resilience of both sides and said: ''Stam has been a great signing for United. I knew he would be because I knew his personality was right for the English league.
''Also like me, he maybe had too many games in Holland that were easy. He needed about 10 games to settle in here and it was the same also for me when I first arrived. But he is looking very good now and will be a challenge for us.
''United have had a great series of results. Not only that but they have been winning by high scores — six at Leicester and eight at Nottingham Forest.'' But Arsenal's back line remains the meanest in the Premiership with just 11 goals conceded all season and Overmars said: ''If they can keep another nil we can do something. ''But whatever the result tomorrow, the race is still not over.''

Big-game at right time for Ferguson

by David Anderson
ALEX FERGUSON believes Manchester United's crunch clash with Arsenal has come at just the right time for his side.
United go into tonight's Old Trafford showdown on the back of eight straight wins in 1999 and they have opened up a four-point lead at the top of the table.
Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole, who did not play together at Highbury in United's 3-0 defeat in September when the sides last met, are causing havoc among opposition defences and the pair have scored 39 goals between them this season. Skipper Roy Keane and fellow midfielder Paul Scholes are also back from suspension to add steel and style to United's backbone.
Not even injuries to key players like Ryan Giggs have been able to derail the United bandwagon now that Ferguson has assembled such a huge squad at Old Trafford. The sides were due to meet last weekend and United's decision to rearrange the game for tonight is looking like a shrewd choice.
Compare this with 11 months ago when United were in disarray for the corresponding fixture.
Burdened by a crippling injury list, United's title challenge was fading and Marc Overmars applied the coup de grace to effectively win the championship race for the Gunners.
"It's going to be a hard game and I think the players know that," Ferguson said.
"I think some of them were even thinking about it against Fulham on Sunday because of the importance of it.
"Our form has been good and it's a good time to be going into a big match like this. We had a lot of injuries when we played Arsenal last year and I think we had six regulars out that day.
"That did have an effect and you wouldn't recognise the team that day from the present one.
"Now of course we have a strong pool of players and it's working well for us. Hopefully, it will remain that way."
United's rude health is in contrast to Arsene Wenger's problems going into the game.
Dennis Bergkamp and Emmanuel Petit are suspended, while Martin Keown is sidelined through injury.
Hardly the ideal team news going into a game which could shape the destiny of the Premiership crown.
Ferguson, though, refuses to believe that Arsenal will be significantly weakened and he expects Tony Adams and Lee Dixon to return after injury.
"If you look in defence, they've still got Steve Bould, Tony Adams, Nelson Vivas and Nigel Winterburn," he said.
"So they're still very strong, while Dixon will probably be back.
"They've got great experience at the back so I don't think anything will really change and they will still be hard to beat."
The match is being billed by many as another potential championship decider, but Ferguson refuses to heap too much importance on just this one game.
He said: "It's too early to talk about titles, but it could be significant — put it that way."
Denis Irwin is United's only injury doubt and Phil Neville is expected to replace him if the Irishman does not recover from his groin complaint.

Blackburn a tough nut to
crack, says Morris

by Matt Barlow
JODY MORRIS expects a typically tough Premiership battle when Chelsea tackle Blackburn tonight.
The young midfielder has firmly established himself in Gianluca Vialli's star-studded squad and he is looking forward to pitting his wits against Brian Kidd's Rovers.
The Blues have slipped out of their fluent early-season form, but Morris reckons Saturday's 1-0 FA Cup win at Sheffield Wednesday may give them the perfect tonic as the season enters its crucial final stages.
''I thought we played really well on Saturday, and the manager was really buzzing after the game,'' said 20-year-old Morris.
''Hopefully we've turned the corner after a bad patch. All of us believe that ourselves, and that's all that matters.
Vialli's team have stumbled since topping the Premiership and now have to claw back ground on Manchester United.
Long-term injuries to key players Gustavo Poyet, Pierluigi Casiraghi and Tore Andre Flo and the transfer of Brian Laudrup have not helped matters at Stamford Bridge.
Vialli has been the first to acknowledge loss of form but the Italian has seen his team grind out precious points while playing indifferently.
As a result Chelsea are still second in the league and gunning on two cup fronts.
The Hillsborough win booked a place in the last eight of the FA Cup, and the Blues continue the defence of their European Cup-Winners' Cup crown next month.
Fixtures will come thick and fast over the coming months, and Vialli knows the hectic end of season can catch clubs out.
''We like to play well, but it's not easy because of the fixture schedule,'' he said.
Dennis Wise starts his latest ban against Blackburn. He was sent off for the fourth time this season in the FA Cup fourth-round replay win against Oxford.
Eddie Newton, Bernard Lambourde, Andy Myers and Mark Nicholls are all added to the squad which beat the Owls.
Morris is likely to continue in central midfield after another star performance in Sheffield.
Improving Blackburn will need to show more of the battling qualities that have underpinned their revival under Brian Kidd if they are to get the better of Chelsea.
So says Kidd himself, who goes into the match boosted by the return of Jason McAteer and Matt Jansen - both Cup-tied at the weekend.
But Blackburn must wait for last-minute checks on the fitness of Scottish trio Callum Davidson, Christian Dailly and Billy McKinlay.
Kidd has been looking at the broader picture, though, and said: ''Chelsea will be a tough game, but if you want to be successful then you have to handle what the season throws at you.
''We've been scrapping since I arrived at the club, but I can't fault the lads' attitude. Recurring injury and suspension have been our biggest problem.
''We have had a couple of hard games away from home, but our away form hasn't been poor since I came here".
Kidd and Co will have young midfielder David Dunn fit following his clash of heads in the drawn Cup match at Newcastle on Sunday.
Swiss centre-half Stephane Henchoz remains a doubt with a thigh injury sustained in last week's international action, though, and Jason Wilcox serves the second match of a three-match suspension.
John Filan will continue to keep England goalkeeper Tim Flowers on the bench after another man-of-the-match show at Newcastle and is looking forward to another chance to impress against Chelsea.

Phillips aims to topple Leicester giants . . . and little men

by Damian Spellman
SUNDERLAND front man Kevin Phillips is hoping to strike another blow for the little man as his side returns to Worthington Cup semi-final action tonight.
The 5ft 7in striker saw Tony Cottee — just an inch taller — give Leicester a 2-1 first-leg lead at the Stadium of Light last month with two instinctive finishes.
While the former Watford player knows that his side have a mountain to climb despite Gavin McCann's late strike, he is determined to disprove the assertion that big is necessarily beautiful.
"If I can achieve what he's achieved then I'll be more than happy. It just goes to show that not everyone has to be six foot to succeed. Tony's a great role model for the smaller lads."
Phillips, who missed three months of the current season with a toe injury, has nevertheless reached double figures after his stunning 35-goal contribution in 1997-98.
His late penalty winner at Bristol City on Saturday took him to 11 but he knows he will have his work cut out to extend that tally at Filbert Street against one of the most formidable defences he has met to date.
"Matt Elliott, Steve Walsh and Gerry Taggart are the three biggest centre-halves I've ever played against," he said.
"We've got big men up front in Niall Quinn and Danny Dichio, if he plays, so we can challenge them, but they're very strong.
"They've also got two good central midfield players and Emile Heskey and Cottee up front, who were a different class on the night up here. But if we can keep them out then we stand a good chance."
Sunderland boss Peter Reid acknowledges Leicester are favourites to reach the final but refuses to write off his side's chances of meeting Tottenham or Wimbledon next month.
"We have to go to Leicester with a positive attitude, but I know my players are up for it and you never know what can happen," Reid said.
Leicester manager Martin O'Neill is taking nothing for granted even though City will be odds-on favourites to overcome Reid's side.
He said: "It will be an awkward game and the reaction of my players after the first match said it all. There was no mad euphoria, no-one jumping for joy in the dressing room.
"Maybe the boys were disappointed after conceding a late goal but they also knew there was plenty of work to be got in the second leg.
"We also turned in our worst performance for a long time against Sheffield Wednesday whereas Sunderland gave themselves a boost with their win at Bristol City to regain the initiative at the top of the First Division.
"Everybody knows what is at stake. To get back to Wembley would be terrific and it offers the best passage to clinch a spot in Europe."

O'Leary vows to lock himself
into long-term contract

by Ian Parkes
LEEDS manager David O'Leary yesterday vowed to lock himself into a long-term contract at Elland Road —without any means of escape.
O'Leary is prepared to put pen to paper to a six or seven-year deal with United such is his love for the club and his desire to succeed at the highest level.
Chairman Peter Ridsdale revealed after Saturday's FA Cup fifth-round draw against Spurs that he and O'Leary were to thrash out terms on a new contract in the next two weeks.
And the good news for Ridsdale is the 41-year-old Irishman does not want any get-out clause written into the deal which would allow another club a back door route in to poach his services.
O'Leary said: "I spoke with the chairman yesterday and he told me he wanted me to stay for a long time, which would help to get the young lads to sign.
"I told him how much I love the place and that I wanted to build him a team but that it would take a long time because we won't able to buy the success the other clubs have done.
"But building that team is what I want to do because it's no secret that I love it here and want to stay.
"I have told the club I will sign any length of contract they wish to offer me.
"If they want me to sign a four, five, six, seven-year contract, then I will. I'm going to leave the number of years up to the club. That's their decision."
O'Leary is looking to make one key defensive signing before the transfer deadline at the end of next month as he again faces problems at the back going into tonight's trip to Aston Villa.
Woodgate looks certain to miss the game with a knee injury, which could mean another rearguard reshuffle to a side which has lost their last two Premiership games.
Meanwhile, Dion Dublin will go through the pain barrier to try to put Villa's Premiership title challenge back on course.
But manager John Gregory may force the striker to have surgery which could sideline him for several weeks.
Dublin will ignore a troublesome groin problem to lead Villa's attack in the absence of Stan Collymore against Leeds.
But Gregory admits that the performances of his £5.75 million signing from Coventry have been badly affected by the injury — and the goals have dried up.
Paul Merson and Gareth Southgate will return for Gregory's side as they aim to bounce back from successive defeats at the hands of Newcastle and Blackburn.
Southgate has been troubled by a hip complaint which forced his withdrawal from the England squad to face France last week while Merson was ruled out of the same international with a back problem.
Gregory said: "I don't think there is too much wrong and in the last match against Blackburn we played well and created chances but paid for a couple of errors.
"We need a win now to give us a lift and a bit more self-belief. Two or three wins now and we are right back in the hunt."
Gregory said Collymore will not return to Villa from his stress counselling for another 10 days and that makes it more urgent for Dublin to be patched up to for the Leeds clash.

© Examiner Publications Ltd, 1999