LEICESTER CITY 5 QPR 1
Report by Paul Weston
An expectant crowd gathered at the King Power for what had turned out to be a stress-free match after the resilient draw against Sunderland had brought The Great Escape to a fantastic conclusion. The Birch commendably had hobbled his way yet again around the pitch for his 35th charity run to warm applause from the crowd.
Pearson selected the same side as at Sunderland and the team came out to a roar from the crowd who had been well lubricated by the free beer donated by the owner. It was a sea of blue with noisy clackers and flags provided for everyone. Each team member was greeted with acclaim especially for Jamie Vardy- England’s Number 1- who would have thought it a few months ago?
Although QPR had plenty of possession throughout the match City always carried the greater attacking threat with the wingbacks Schlupp and Albrighton bombing down the flanks and tackling back with great energy. Ulloa just missed with a curler.
However, it did not take long for Mahrez to meander through the QPR defence and send in a shot which the goalie obligingly fumbled for Vardy to slot home. 1-0 and the crowd was rocking. Then, from another Schlupp raid down the wing and cross, Albrighton thumped in a shot which arrowed into the net leaving McCarthy with no chance. 2-0 at half time and City was well in control.
De Laet replaced Wasilewski at the start of the second half. City then started the second half with gusto and after a period of pressure, Wes Morgan shot towards goal and Ulloa chested the ball past McCarthy. QPR were wobbling now and its defence looked shell shocked.
Albrighton crossed and Cambiasso, the master magician, controlled well and drilled a shot across McCarthy into the goal. Cambiasso bowed theatrically to the crowd who applauded the skills of one of the best players to grace our club in the past few years.
Joey Barton had tried hard to keep QPR going throughout and, from one of his free kicks, Austin glanced in a consolation goal with no-one marking him. It was strange to let in a goal as our defence, with Huth commanding as always, has looked much more solid over the past few months. By this time Drinkwater had come on for Cambiasso and Kramaric on for Vardy.
Kramaric soon showed us his ball control skills and tried to set up a further goal with the crowd eager for more. It did not take long for a Schmeichel goal kick to be turned by Ulloa into the path of Kramaric who finished well across the goalie. A good poacher’s goal for a stunning 5-1 victory.
By the end of the match most of the QPR fans had drifted away as their team has to prepare for what could be rocky return to the Championship. In contrast the owners, City players, manager and support team returned for a lap of honour with their families.
This was rapturously received by a packed crowd which had stayed to applaud the players who, in the end, had reached the giddy heights of 14th in the Premiership and 6 points from the bottom three.
It was just the perfect day and hard to believe that, not so long ago, we just could not win a match, irrespective of how well the team played. After Pearson has a well-earned holiday he will then need to focus on how to strengthen the team for another assault on the Premiership.
A left back and midfielder seem to be the highest priorities. The big question of whether Cambiasso stays remains unresolved for a while. If he leaves this will be a huge loss as he has performed the role of second captain on the pitch and led by example.
City fans can now take a break after what has been a roller coaster season proud of the part they have played in supporting their team, both home and away, even when fate conspired against them. Bring on next season: FOXES NEVER QUIT!
Match details
Leicester: Schmeichel, Wasilewski (De Laet 46), Huth, Morgan, Albrighton, Cambiasso (Drinkwater 76), King, Schlupp, Mahrez, Ulloa, Vardy (Kramaric 65). Subs not used: Konchesky, Hammond, Schwarzer, Wood
QPR: McCarthy, Onuoha, Dunne, Hill, Yun (Kpekawa 85), Phillips, Henry (Comley 80), Barton, Fer, Austin, Grego-Cox. Subs not used: Murphy, Hoilett, Doughty, Furlong, Petrasso
Attendance: 31,467 Referee: Michael Oliver
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