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Nugent heroics please Pearson

Image: David Nugent: Scored Leicester's winner against Norwich in the FA Cup

Leicester boss Nigel Pearson was full of praise for David Nugent after the striker fired his side into the FA Cup quarter-finals.

Foxes boss applauds frontman after Norwich upset

Leicester boss Nigel Pearson was full of praise for David Nugent after the striker fired his side into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup. Nugent slotted the 70th-minute winner which gave Championship side Leicester a 2-1 win against Premier League Norwich at Carrow Road. "Nugent is so confident. He plays with a smile on his face," said Pearson. "He is a very positive influence and his work-rate is exceptional. He is a very popular player in the team and today he showed the quality he has got. "We played with a lot of discipline and desire and didn't make a lot of mistakes." Nugent, who won one England cap in 2007, played for Portsmouth when they beat Cardiff in the FA Cup final in 2008 and Pearson, whose side are mid-table in the Championship, admits there will be some players and fans dreaming of Wembley again. "This is still a very prestigious competition," said Pearson. "When you get to the latter stages you start dreaming you can be successful."

Harsh

Pearson saw his side take the lead through Sean St Ledger's header before Norwich captain Wes Hoolahan equalised, stabbing home the rebound after his spot-kick had been saved by Kasper Schmeichel, who was unlucky to have been adjudged to have brought down Elliott Bennett in the box. "I was very pleased to go in front and then to deal with the disappointment of a penalty which we feel was a bit harsh," he said. "We created chances and when we had to defend we did so with a lot of spirit. "Jermaine Beckford caused them all sorts of problems and today we were better than them. We played some good football. We wanted to play positive football."

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