Huddersfield 1 City 1
Report by Kate Thompson
I hadn't worried that we were only just above the relegation zone, as we had had some difficult matches, but this lacklustre display against Huddersfield was more concerning. As Shakespeare said, they played in the way we normally play and did it very effectively.
Frankly, we were awful in the first half although Schmeichel was rarely troubled, so full credit to the defence. Huddersfield were quicker to every ball and harried and hustled City so that they struggled to get out of their own half.
The Huddersfield goal came almost immediately after the restart and Depoitre out-muscled Maguire, one of the most reliable of defenders so far. Somewhat surprisingly we equalised almost immediately as King was brought down in the box and Vardy slammed the ball into the net, right in front of the City supporters. Note to Riyad Mahrez – that's how to take a penalty.
Huddersfield thought they had scored again not long after but it was ruled out for offside. It was impossible to say as it was the far end from where we were, but it appeared from reports that it was a debatable decision. For once Jonathan Moss was kind to us!
In the 70th minute Mahrez burst into life and put a lovely low cross into the box, only for Vardy to miss an easy tap-in from close range. That would have been rather a travesty but we would have taken it! Gray, who had come on for Albrighton in the 65th minute went down in the box, but it looked like a dive and was rightly waved away.
The starting line-up showed three changes – King for the injured James, Ineacho for his first start and Ben Chilwell for Fuchs whose eye had been damaged in a freak accident in training. The midfield was frequently over-run and Ndidi had a poor game; we must however remember how young he is – he will make mistakes but as long as he learns from them he will be alright.
I agree with those who are saying we need three in midfield and the fit again Iborra would add a bit of stability to the engine room of the team. Ineacho worked hard but with only a few glimpses of his ability. We need to give him time, a rare commodity in the modern game. He was replaced by Okazaki in the 69th minute.
The final change was Slimani for Vardy, which had a few scratching their heads until it emerged that Vardy had a slight groin strain. Slimani continues to baffle me – he doesn't look like an athlete and at one point he appeared to be asleep! – but he has scored some important goals.
Although he is an U21 England international – and speaks beautifully! – Chilwell doesn't inspire the same confidence as Fuchs and he had his hands full in this match. As for the rest, for once I agree with Ian Stringer about Andy King. He still has a role to play for this team but because he is not flashy – one of the few players not to have a tattoo, so far as I can see! – his hard work frequently goes unnoticed.
So it was a fortunate point but as one of the contributors to Radio Leicester said, we only got a point away against Bournemouth in the title-winning season, from a Vardy penalty, so we don't need to press the panic button yet.
Leicester City: Schmeichel, Simpson, Morgan (c), Maguire, Chilwell, Mahrez, Ndidi, King, Albrighton (Gray 65), Iheanacho (Okazaki 68) Vardy (Slimani 82). Unused Subs Hamer, Amartey, Iborra, Ulloa,
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