Wimbledon stay on course for trips to Wembley

DESPITE Sunday's last gasp draw against Chelsea in the FA Cup, not everything has been going Leicester's way. A series of suspensions and injuries deprived Martin O'Neill of some of his best players for that game and last night fortune was hiding again in this League Cup semi-final first leg match at Filbert Street.

To boost the left side of his team the Leicester manager had, on Monday, bought Robert Ullathorne, paying the Spanish club Osasuna £600,000 for the 25-year-old and giving him his debut last night.

But it proved a short and unfortunate association. Perhaps not yet climatised to the softer pitches of England, on 12 minutes Ullathorne turned sharply and, with no-one near him, crumpled in a heap with what was later diagnosed as a suspected broken leg.

So, another blow for O'Neill, who had already cried foul at Wimbledon's rejection of a request to delay this game until tomorrow to give his side extra time to recover from Sunday's exertions.

Perhaps tiredness was one reason why the home side found themselves pinned inside their own half early on as Wimbledon's strength on the ball and vibrant attacking policy ruled much of the first half.

Wimbledon had decided to stick with the adventurous three-striker system that had so impressively dumped Manchester United out of the FA Cup two weeks ago. On this occasion Marcus Gayle and Efan Ekoku were joined by Don Goodman.

Having said that, however, Kasey Keller was rarely threatened. A succession of long throws by Vinnie Jones were easily cleared and the visitors had to wait until the 23rd minute to register their first chance on goal, Gayle heading straight at the keeper from close range.

Leicester's best chance before the break was created by Emile Heskey, back after being suspended for Sunday, whose run into the left side of Wimbledon's area ended with a fierce shot which Neil Sullivan was relieved to parry away for a corner.

Just before the break Izzet, also back after a ban, chipped just wide but otherwise Sullivan was left to find his own methods of keeping warm on this cold night.

It is always difficult for teams to make a silk purse out of a two-legged tie, especially in the first game which tends to be a cagey Wimbledon were caught offside 3 times in the first half. As for Leicester, who won this trophy way back in 1964, what they would have given for some of the suspended Lennon's zest to help make more of their home advantage on their quest for a Wembley final place against Stockport or Middlesbrough.

It looked as though the biggest disruption to Wimbledon's composure would remain Jones's threat to quit the club if they did not come up with a decent new contract before the end of the season.

But, as the second half matured so Leicester began to stir, stringing together enough telling passing movements to mount at last, sustained pressure on Sullivan's goal.

Taylor found himself free on the right edge of the Wimbledon area only to see his shot blocked then Heskey twice went agonisingly close.

First Sullivan punched away the striker's header then, following a Lawrence long throw flicked on by Steve Walsh, Heskey blasted over from six yards. He should have scored Wimbledon's quest for two cups remains more viable than Leicester's after this goalless draw. The home side could not conjure a late miracle as they had done to force an FA Cup replay against Chelsea just 48 hours earlier.

So, with home advantage to exploit in the second leg of this competition plus a guaranteed place in the sixth round of the FA Cup, Joe Kinnear's side remain firmly on track to make this the most memorable season in their short but eventful league history.

Leicester midfielder Garry Parker opted to play last night despite his wife Petra suffering a miscarriage just hours before the kick-off.

Parker rushed to be with his wife at Leicester Royal Infirmary after hearing the news at around five o'clock as he was leaving the team hotel to set off for the ground.

But he arrived 35 minutes before the 7.45pm kick-off and turned on a fine performance in the goalless draw with the Dons.

Leicester manager Martin O'Neill confirmed: "Garry Parker's wife has had a miscarriage and I gave him the option of pulling out of the game.

"We gave him until the last possible moment to decide what he wanted to do. We put the team sheet in at seven o'clock and he arrived back at 7.10pm ready to play."