Aston Villa 2 City 1
Report by Kate Thompson
Another game, another defeat and more gloom and doom. At least we are scoring goals now, but the defending yesterday was – to quote the ‘Match of the day’ presenters – woeful. Despite taking the lead yet again, we were pegged back within five minutes.
A totally unnecessary free kick just outside the box, saw Clark glide in without a single City player marking him, to score an easy header. The Villa winner was also the result of abysmal defending, when Hutton was allowed to come in from the right with no City player near him and score a simple goal that Schmeichel could do nothing about.
There were a couple of enforced changes from the Liverpool game. Simpson played for the first time in the senior squad since his summer transfer and it later transpired that De Laet was ill. A number of fans have been questioning De Laet’s defensive capabilities recently and it was an opportunity for Simpson to demonstrate why he should be selected instead. I thought he had a good game and I would like to see him given an extended run in the team.
The other enforced change was Liam Moore for the suspended Morgan; to my mind he had done nothing wrong to warrant his being dropped and I would like to see him given a few more games alongside Wasilewski.
I was a bit surprised that Mahrez and Schlupp had kept their places, but they both divide opinion and presumably Pearson thinks they add value to the team. Schmeichel was captain in Morgan’s absence, and had a better game that he has recently, making a number of crucial saves to keep the scoreline to a respectable level. He couldn’t be faulted for the two goals that Villa scored and quite rightly lambasted his defence for their obvious deficiencies.
It was frustrating that Leicester couldn’t beat a poor Villa side and these are the games that we should be winning. Vardy didn’t seem his normal lively self and I wonder if he had been suffering from the illness that has apparently been running through the club.
Ulloa scored the single City goal, an easy tap-in after Guzan spilled the ball from a Mahrez shot. For the record, Wood replaced Vardy in the 66th minute and Albrighton played the last few minutes against his old club. Wood had one fierce shot which went the wrong side of the post but sadly Albrighton had little impact.
The other talking point was the number of cautions the players from both sides received. It began with a dangerous tackle from Vardy that earned him a yellow card and there were a number of retaliations. Ulloa got clattered, although the referee judged it a fair tackle, and he was unable to continue after the break.
His replacement, Nugent, had one cracking shot that deserved a goal but Guzan was able to make a wonder save. Both sides had four players booked, but the real injustice was Konchesky’s red card. His foul on Hutton probably deserved a booking but he clearly said something that incensed the Villa player who pushed his face towards Konchesky; to the City fans’ bafflement Hutton only received a caution while Konchesky was sent off – surely it should have been the other way round?
The standard of refereeing continues to be poor and Craig Pawson appears to be one of the worst.
Some fans have already thrown in the towel but to the players’ credit, they still seem to believe that they can turn their season around. I am in the camp that says Pearson should be given time to rectify the situation and build on his good work so far.
Leicester: Schmeichel, Simpson, Wasilewski, Moore, Konchesky, Mahrez, James, Cambiasso, Schlupp (Albrighton 78), Ulloa (Nugent 46), Vardy (Wood 66). Subs not used: Drinkwater, King, Hamer, Powell
Villa: Guzan, Hutton, Okore, Clark, Cissokho, Cleverley (Grealish 62), Westwood (Richardson 44), Sanchez, N'Zogbia (Bacuna 76), Benteke, Agbonlahor. Subs not used: Herd, Given, Lowton, Robinson
Attendance: 27,692 Referee: Craig Pawson
The views expressed in this report are the opinions of the Trust member nominated to file the report only and do not represent the views of the Foxes Trust organisation