Garry Parker scored from a penalty in the last minute to complete a thrilling recovery by Leicester last night after two sides with little realistically to play for laid on 90 minutes of glorious commitment and open entertainment. After David Hirst added to Egil Ostenstad's two goals, it seemed the tie was all over. Leicester, though, had other ideas.

Both sides started as if a weight was off their mind and, in Leicester's case, as if ambition was alive. Southampton were caught cold by their speed of thought and movement and the slickness of passing that sliced open the visiting defence.

Graham Fenton should have put Leicester ahead after five minutes when Steve Guppy got beyond Jason Dodd and crossed. Paul Jones was allowed to block a feeble point-blank shot and then to turn away Theo Zagorakis's header from the rebound. By the 10th minute Richard Dryden had twice cleared desperately from crosses, first as Emile Heskey closed, then after Neil Lennon's piercing pass had picked out Robbie Savage for a centre from the right byline.

But then, as Leicester looked to be in command, Southampton hit back. On the quarter-hour Matt Elliott and Spencer Prior hesitated in expectation of a free kick up-field. Le Tissier, meanwhile, playing to the lack of whistle, split them with a raking pass into Ostenstad's stride. Kasey Keller had no chance.

Leicester were level in a minute. Lennon, controlling the ball 30 yards out, let fly and beat Jones high to his left. Then Southampton, again against the hurtling run of play, scored a second in the 27th minute. It did not augur well for Scotland this summer. Dodd crossed and Ostenstad nipped inside Elliott to head home. Norway and Scotland, who picked Elliott in yesterday's squad, are in the same group.

Leicester's defence suffered further embarrassment straight after the interval as Southampton cut through them again. Le Tissier pulled back from the byline for Hirst to blast in.

Elliott made partial amends for that by heading in Guppy's corner three minutes later. Prior, though, was less successful when Guppy nodded the ball back from Lennon's centre. He trod on it with no one to beat and Jones recovered.

Leicester City: Keller, Savage, Guppy, Prior (Walsh 69), Elliott, Kaamark, Izzet, Lennon, Zagorakis (Parker 64), Fenton (Marshall 64), Heskey. Subs Not Used: Arphexad, Wilson. Goals: Lennon 18, Elliott 52, Parker 90 pen.

Southampton: Jones, Dodd, Benali, Palmer, Lundekvam (Monkou 68), Dryden, Oakley, Beresford, Le Tissier, Ostenstad, Hirst. Subs Not Used: Moss, Basham, Hughes, Richardson. Booked: Lundekvam, Ostenstad. Goals: Ostenstad 17, 27, Hirst 49.

Referee: G Poll (Tring).