NERVES STRETCHED TO LIMIT IN CRUCIAL VICTORY

CITY 1 VILLA 0

Report by Eddie Blount

This was a one-sided game that City could easily have won by four or five goals but we were so profligate with the numerous chances we created that the fans were kept on the edge of their seats right until the final whistle. No mistake any other result other than a win for City would have been a travesty of justice. We made guilt-edged chances in both halves but our failure to convert them into goals left the result in doubt up to the very end of the game.

However all the nervous anxiety seemed worthwhile when the referee’s final whistle gave the Foxes a valuable three points which put them back in contact with fellow relegation contenders. Given that the twelfth side, Everton, are a mere five points ahead of us you can see that another three points from a home win against Stoke next weekend would do wonders for our confidence that we can avoid the drop.

City were entirely dominant in the first half, roared on by another capacity crowd. Pearson fielded a midfield of Hammond and James, both of whom played well, and a fresh set of wide players in Albrighton and Knockaert. They too responded to the challenge with Albrighton playing a starring role against his old club. It was he who set up the first great chance of the game playing in Nugent with only the keeper to beat. Somehow Nugent scuffed his shot horribly wide of the gaping target.

He almost made amends for this bad miss with a glorious shot from the edge of the box which struck the underside of the crossbar and simply would not come down for the onrushing Ulloa who headed just over. Earlier Albrighton had a chance with a header at the far post which failed to even hit the target and an Ulloa shot was deflected wide when he could easily have scored.

Just as we approached the half time whistle in the full expectation that we would pay a price for so many missed chances at some time in this game, City scored! An attack down City’s right flank saw the cross hooked back across the Villa goal by Ulloa, partially headed clear by the Villa defence only for Konchesky to volley the bouncing ball from the edge of the box low into the corner of the net at the near post. Had he hit it more cleanly it might have been easier to save but the slight mis-hit made it impossible for the Villa keeper to predict the flight of the ball. So for once an element of luck working in our favour.

Villa had shown little in the first half with only one shot on target which did not trouble the reliable Hamer who has now managed four clean sheets in his brief spell as Schmeichel’s deputy. He dominates the six-yard box in a way that Schmeichel does not and it will give the manager an interesting selection problem when the Dane is fit again.

Villa’s fans were not slow to display their displeasure with their side’s performance for which they fairly and squarely blamed manager, Paul Lambert. His substitutions were greeted with boos and chants of ‘You don’t know what you’re doing!’ and in these circumstances he cannot stay much longer. Villa find scoring goals extremely difficult and today was no exception. Credit to City for marshalling their defences really well but Villa did not manage a shot on target in the second half when they had at least as much of the play as their hosts.

The one worrying aspect of City’s performance was that the substitutions clearly weakened the team. Lawrence was brought on for Albrighton but never looked like a wide player and Ulloa was replaced by Vardy but with no one to hold the ball up City built very few attacks in the last quarter of the game. An attack of what looked like cramp soon did for Hammond who gave way to King who does not have Hammond’s defensive qualities.  

It should have made no difference as by then we should have been out of sight. Albrighton had brilliantly set up James for a header saved By Guzan at point-blank range shortly after he had forced the keeper to a great save of his fierce, deflected cross-shot. Not to mention a sweeping move which ended in a pass to Ulloa who should have scored with a first time shot but delayed and was crowded out. So City were forced back for most of the last 15 minutes but in retrospect Villa never looked like scoring. City fans know that this is no barrier to City conceding, remembering the farcical own goal we donated to West Brom!

The final moments of added time were marked by the dismissal of James for what looked from a distance to be a hard but fair tackle but which prompted an immediate mass reaction from nearby Villa players causing one of their number, Clark, also to be dismissed. Clearly the referee was intent on not making the same mistake as the ref at the Villa park fixture between these two clubs did, when he sent off the relatively innocent Konchesky and merely yellow-carded the villain Hutton (who was roundly booed today every time he touched the ball). The player tackled by James initially collapsed as if badly injured but miraculously recovered to play out the remaining minutes. This marred a fine outcome for the Foxes who will now have to spend time and money strengthening midfield. Wigan, you have been warned!

City: Hamer, Simpson, Wasilewski, Morgan, Konchesky, Albrighton (Lawrence 72), James, Hammond (King75), Knockaert, Nugent, Ulloa (Vardy 72)

Aston Villa: Guzan, Hutton, Okore, Clark, Cissokho (N’Zogbia 89), Cleverley, Westwood, Sanchez (Richardson 76), Agbonlahor, Benteke, Cole (Weimann 72)

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