City 1 West Ham 2

Report by Eddie Blount   

The scoreline might suggest that this was a closely-fought game. It wasn't! There was a street of difference between the 2 sides who were the bookies' pre-season favourites for automatic promotion and this is reflected in the comparative league positions of the teams - the league table does not lie at this time of the season.

West Ham settled quickly and had a couple of potentially dangerous moves in the first five minutes as befits a side with still an outside chance of filling one of the top two places; City on the other hand looked like a side with nothing to play for. The gulf in class was clearly evident as West Ham enjoyed a massive percentage possession statistic and we gave the ball away as soon as we had managed to get it back.

City's cause was not helped by an early injury to Wellens. We were already being overrun in midfield where King was hardly able to get a touch and Drinkwater unable to keep hold of the ball or use it profitably. As we have insufficient quality in midfield to make up the team anyway this stretched our resources beyond breaking point. Dyer came off the bench and an original formation of 2-1-4-1-2 with Marshall playing in the hole behind the two strikers became a more orthodox 4-4-2.

Against the run of play City took the lead on 34 minutes when Marshall cleverly won and kept possession wide right, cut in and delivered a perfect cross for Beckford to rise between the impressive central defenders and score with a decisive header. It all looked so easy but there was to be no repeat so looks must be deceptive.

West Ham responded by giving us a.......hammering for the rest of the half and it came as no surprise when they equalised five minutes after going behind. We should note their reaction as we inevitably struggle when we go behind away from home.

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The Foxes Trust board would like to wish BBC Radio Leicester commentator, Ian Stringer, every success as he aims to complete his first London Marathon this Sunday (April 22nd)

Ian is running the event to raise funds for Leicester City Foxes Foundation and with the backing of many fans and several local sponsors has already made significant progress to meet his target of raising £20,000.

The Trust has been backing the Foxes Foundation, through the e-bay sales of sections of the old Stadium Frieze, however those items have sold in a price range from £20 to £150, by sponsoring Ian Stringer, it enables fans to contribute a few pounds to the fund.

So if you enjoy Ian’s commentary, then why not back his fund raising efforts and if you don’t, well how about contributing anyway, see it as paying for him to go through the pain barrier

Ian Stringer in Training

To make a donation (and read Ian’s training diary) just follow this link http://www.justgiving.com/foxesfoundation

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Leicester City 0 Burnley 0

Report by Mike King

After the previous depressing but accurate report after the defeat at Millwall, and with Play-Off expectations now 99% extinguished, it was a depressing walk towards the King Power Stadium and the crowd and atmosphere were equally subdued, but the hope was for a good win against fellow mid-tablers Burnley to cheer the faithful City fans as this disappointing season draws to an end. With Season Ticket renewals now at the printers for mailing out, a goal bonanza would help to entice the loyal fans back for another season in the Championship.

With the Sky match reporter sitting this one out, King and Gallagher were relegated to the bench with Drinkwater and Dyer returning, with St Ledger still not preferred in the heart of the defence and, of course, no sign of Mills. Where is he? (editor’s note: Mills seen on the car park pre-match looking embarrassed having a photo with a young City fan)

Burnley have some dangerous players in Austin, Wallace and West Ham loanee Stanislas, so they could pose a threat, but perhaps their motivation was equally subdued in front of their 2 coach loads of dedicated fans. We had a Premier Ref in Mike Jones but after recent performances by Premier officials perhaps it was not a good omen but he did have a good game with only one yellow waved.

The game started quietly with Bamba passing to yellow shirts instead of the intended blue ones, but the City were trying to push forward. Dyer had a couple of runs down the left but his crosses found Burnley defenders enabling them to clear. Mis-placed passes were catching as Konchesky gave the ball away as McCann's pass to Austin found him in space but his fierce shot was parried by Schmeichel. Burnley sensed an opening goal and Austin came close but was denied by a brave Morgan tackle.

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Millwall 2 City 1

Report by Colin Hall

The awayday malaise, which has plagued Leicester so often this season, returned with a vengeance, as latest hosts Millwall secured Championship survival with a 2-1 victory over the Foxes.

A sizeable visiting contingent travelled to the New Den nurturing hopes of an improbable charge into the playoff spot following City's two wins over Easter.  However confidence was seriously dented even before kick-off once the team line-up was announced.

The recall of Andy King and Paul Gallagher to the starting line-up was greeted with widespread incredulity.  Both players had appeared significantly unnerved in previous encounters by the Lions' fierce, combative approach, and many feared (correctly, as it transpired) they would be so again. 

However, City made a bright start during the opening 20 minutes, with winger Ben Marshall enjoying plenty of possession.  The home defence stood firm, though, ensuring that home keeper Maik Taylor was rarely troubled.

At the other end, an inswinging free kick by James Henry caused problems for the visiting defence, but Harry Kane narrowly failed to hit the target. 

This warning for City went unheeded, as minutes later another Henry freekick was met by home skipper Paul Robinson.  His header across goal was not cleared, and Kane pounced to fire the Lions into the lead.

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