Leicester City 2 Cardiff City 1
Match Report by Mike King
On a freezing day, any doubts that the match at the King Power Stadium would be called off were dispelled after the sun and under soil heating were to provide an excellent playing surface for the game against the Carling Cup finalists, a game the Foxes just had to win to keep any hopes of reaching the playoffs alive. A home league win had not been achieved since November and the reason the City were languishing mid-table.
After the previous 3 games that the "Man in the Middle" had so much influence on the results, was it a coincidence that the referee was the popular Prem official, Mark Halsey? So perhaps the Referees Appointments Secretary has sympathised with the Foxes after the Beckford and Pearson reds had been rescinded. Yet another poor official would have seemed like a vendetta against the City!
Nigel Pearson had to make an enforced change to the team as the improving Dann's had to watch from the stands following his red card against Brighton, so Paul Gallagher returned, and what an important decision that proved to be, resisting starting with either new signing Marshall or loanee Delfouneso.
Kicking towards the Kop end, the City started well, with Cardiff having the prolific Miller up front on his own and the dangerous Whittingham playing in front of his back four. The first chance of the game fell to Gallagher, after a cross field pass found Peltier on the edge of the box, and his downward header picked out Gallagher who shot meekly with his left foot, dragging the ball 10 yards wide. Control and a right foot shot a better alternative.
Shortly afterwards, another easy chance fell to the City skipper. A Gallagher corner picked out Mills and he headed wide of the far post from 6 yards, an easy chance for the centre half to increase his goal count. Cardiff then lost one of their better players, Gunnarson, after 8 minutes to injury and this allowed the pairing of Wellens and Drinkwater in the engine room to stamp their authority on the game.
Dyer had a good run down the left but his cross went straight through the 6 yard area with neither Nugent or Beckford there to slot the ball home, and from a Konchesky cross, Beckford just failed to make contact at the far post. Cardiff hardly threatened the Foxes defence as any high ball was easily dealt with by inform St Ledger and Mills. Konchesky then had a 30 yard drive tipped over the bar by keeper Marshall and a Wellens overhead deflected kick had to be palmed away by Marshall.
After all the pressure a goal just had to come and it resulted from the penalty spot. Yet another Gallagher corner on the right caused havoc in the Cardiff 6 yard area as the City players tried to force the ball home, but Cardiff debutant Vuckic then scythed down Wellens with ref Halsey pointing to the spot – note his excellent position to award the kick. Gallagher went through his usual routine and fired the ball home past Marshall, a much deserved lead for the Foxes.
As half time approached, Cardiff thought they had the equaliser after a rare attack, when Miller beat St Ledger to the ball, lifting it over Schmeichel into the far corner of the net, only to see his celebrations curtailed when he viewed the assistant's flag raised for a narrow off-side decision. A good first half that should have seen the Foxes with a better advantage.
The second half started as the first with Wellens and Drinkwater starting every move. The lanky Gestede came on for Cardiff to partner Miller up front. Drinkwater robbed Whittingham in his own half, advanced goal wards and found Dyer who in turn ran to the edge of the Cardiff penalty area, and seeing Nugent free on the right, found the City striker, but rather than control the ball and fire home, Nugent tried to roll the ball wide of Marshall but the keeper tipped the ball past the post for a corner.
Beckford then went on a run beating 4 defenders, but his left foot drive from a narrow angle was parried by Marshall to safety. It was no surprise that the Foxes extended their lead against a lacklustre Cardiff, as Dyer ran free down the middle, but from 25 yards out, Cowie bought himself a yellow card tipping Dyer's heels. As Konchesky and Gallagher stood over the ball, the Scot curled a beauty over the Cardiff wall into the net with Marshall standing as a spectator to Gallagher's brilliance. Home debutant Marshall then replaced Dyer on the City's left and he looked confident on the ball. A good signing.
The Foxes were now coasting but the City faithful were silenced with 14 minutes to go, when Peltier pushed Gestede in the 6 yard box and again Referee Halsey was well positioned to award the penalty kick. Whittingham sent Schmeichel the wrong way to liven up the rest of the game, and would the Foxes heads go down and let Cardiff equalise? No.
Howard came on for a limping Gallagher who milked the cheers as he departed while Cardiff threw the expected kitchen sink at the City's defence, but Mills and St Ledger dealt with everything thrown at them, and as Halsey blew the final whistle, 3 very well deserved points were in the bag.
A very good performance by the whole team with Wellens and Drinkwater sharing the MOM award and hopefully will be a force to be reckoned with for the remainder of the season as the play-offs are still possible if a good run can follow, with Watford next and a back-to-back win a must for the first time this season. Beckford is now a changed man, running after loose balls, competing and hopefully will continue his resurgence, although Nugent seemed distinctly out of sorts and without the usual smile on his face.
The defence looked solid and Morgan and Bamba will struggle to get into the team if results are positive from now on in, a good situation for Pearson to have and there is also good back-up for mid-field and up front positions.
The game was well refereed by Mark Halsey with no descent and all decisions accepted which has not been the case of late with inept officials we've had and a flurry of yellow and red cards. He even had a smile on his face after some banter with the crowd, nice to see.
The East Stand Kop now have a new song that they chanted throughout the game accompanied by the twirling of scarves above their heads that the rest of the stadium copied, and this looked great, apparently started by Crystal Palace fans although I stand to be corrected! Bring on Watford – 3 points a must!
City: Schmeichel, Peltier, Mills, St Ledger, Konchesky, Gallagher (Howard), Wellens, Drinkwater, Dyer (Marshall), Beckford, Marshall. Subs not used: Logan, Morgan, Delfouneso.
Cardiff: Marshall, McNaughton, Gerrard, Turner, Taylor, Cowie, Gunnarson (Kiss (Mason)), Whittingham, Conway, Vuckic (Gestede), Miller
Crowd: 21,375 Referee: M. Halsey
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