THE man with the managerial Midas touch last night found further glitter sprinkled on his fingertips as Martin O'Neill's Leicester City booked their place in this season's League Cup semi-finals.

Having done for the Dons at Filbert Street on Saturday, Leicester's date with Wimbledon for a swift return to Wembley following last May's play-off trials should hold fewer fears for O'Neill's battling men, whose ticket to the last four was booked by Mark Robins's lone strike three minutes from the interval.

And after a thoroughly effective, if less than pretty, performance, against their first division opponents, the only damp squid on O'Neill's latest managerial success was the sight of defender Simon Grayson being stretchered off in the 81st minute after a heavy clash with Ipswich substitute Richard Naylor.

For Leicester the busy Neil Lennon marked their arrival in the night's contest with a 13th minute dipping effort from the edge of the box that Richard Wright punched over. Steve Claridge matched his overall dress sense with a sloppy slice wide on 28 minutes.

It was then left to one of Norfolk's former footballing sons to put a spanner in Suffolk's works as Robins's innocuous 22-yard shot went inside the goalkeeper's left-hand post three minutes from the interval.

Town's hopes of an early lifeline rested increasingly on Jamie Scowcroft's shoulders, his 53rd minute cross being whipped off Stephen Howe's forehead by Grayson's late intervention. Thus encouraged, the first division side strung together the game's neatest move just before the hour as Geraint Williams shot just over following a five-man interchange.