City 0 – Hull City 1
Post Match Analysis by Chris Griffin
The Championship is tough and Hull reminded Leicester just how tough on a sunny early autumn afternoon. Hull arrived in seventh place in the table so they are clearly a decent outfit. They were well-briefed about Leicester playing from the back and on occasions used a high press to smother the build up from our back four. Leicester exerted early pressure which saw Hull resorting to some robust challenges around the half way line. The visitors picked up three yellow cards in the first half and six by the end of the match.
Pereira had one chance but his effort – a drive the wrong side of the post – could be a motif for Leicester’s subsequent efforts on goal. Altogether Leicester had 21 shots but just the one on target – an effort from KD-H which Hull keeper Ingram grasped.
Hull’s goal in the 15th minute was against the run of play. Delap controlled a cross field pass and cut inside Doyle. No one closed him down quickly enough and his low daisy-cutting shot took a deflection off Vestergaard and found the far corner of the net out of reach of Hermansen’s desperate dive.
It was clear Leicester were rattled by this and Hull had a good spell of play. Mistakes crept into Leicester’s play – especially giving the ball away in midfield and causing the defence to scramble quickly to thwart danger. For Leicester, McAteer provided the biggest threat repeatedly beating his marker, but his crosses did not find a fellow forward. It was noticeable that wingers McAteer and Akgun hugged their touchlines in plenty of space but it was hard to escape the feeling they were not seeing enough of the ball – despite Enzo’s frequent exhortations to the defence and midfield to pass to the wide men.
The Leicester build-up was also slow: too many square and back passes. Most frustrating for the fans were the times Leicester regained or turned over possession, but instead of moving the ball forward and behind the Hull defence, players opted to pass backwards or square and the chance to counter was lost.
The slow build-up continued in the second half and it was no surprise that Maresca made changes – not to the system but to the personnel. On came Mavididi, Ghanaian international Fatawu and Casadei for McAteer, Akgun and Ndidi. It’s worth noting that an increasing number of fans are puzzled that Casadei is not on from the start.
Fatawu was exceptionally impressive on debut, cutting inside and unleashing a rasping low drive which cannoned off the foot of the far post with the keeper well beaten. He and Mavididi provided more go forward impetus. More attacking impetus also came from an unlikely source – Faes. His aggressive tackling in midfield to regain possession, strong running on the ball and searching passes to Fatawu really helped to give us more momentum and stirred up the support from the stands. Vardy came on for Iheanacho and the play seemed camped in the Hull penalty area with the ball like a pin ball rebounding from player to player. Fatawu and Mavididi peppered the six yard box with skimming crosses but nothing found a Leicester player. Vardy headed wide and then failed to connect with the ball six yards out. Casadei headed wide. Pereira shot wide.
Meanwhile this attacking left us vulnerable at the back. Connor drove an excellent chance well over the bar and Hermansen made two top class saves from Christie and Twine.
To the incredulity of the crowd the fourth official indicated only three minutes over time. This was at the end of a half where there had been eight substitutions, six bookings, one head injury check and any amount of time taken by Hull for goal kicks and free kicks.
Maresca sounded philosophical after the match – with comments of the you can’t win every game nature. He stressed the need to be more precise and clinical when it comes to making and scoring goals. Few would argue with that after today but there remain fans with doubts about the style of play. As one fan behind me commented: “This nice passing football is all very well but what’s the point if nothing happens?” Challenging forthcoming away games against Southampton, Norwich and Blackburn will indicate how much in tune the players are with Enzo’s idea.
Leicester City: Hermansen, Pereira, Vestergaard, Faes, Doyle, Ndidi (Casadei 54’), Winks, Dewsbury-Hall, Akgun, (Fatawu 54’); Iheanacho (Vardy 68’), McAteer (Mavididi 54’)
Hull City: Ingram, Coyle, Jones, Greaves, Vinagre (McLoughlin 65’), Slater, Seri, Delap (Sayyadmanesh 84’), Traore (Christie 65’), Twine, Connoly Lokilo, 75’).