LEEDS UNITED 0 LEICESTER CITY 1
Report by Paul Weston
Such a lot had happened since my last report on the disappointing performance against Brighton. Just before and over the Christmas and New Year holiday period City had embarked on a five match winning run in the Championship which had culminated in the demolition of Derby County at the King Power Stadium.
I have been supporting Leicester City since I was a youngster and that exhilarating performance over 90 minutes, in my opinion, was the best I have ever seen from the boys in blue. The players’ inter-passing and movement was a joy to watch and clearly enjoyed by fans and players alike.
The match at Elland Road was always going to be quite different. Leeds had been defeated badly in their last two matches and the team’s pride had been badly dented. I expected Leeds to start on the front foot in front of a noisy crowd and so it turned out. City started with the same side as started against Derby whilst Leeds made McCormack captain with Peltier dropped to the bench.
Leeds bombarded City from the start and created most of the chances in an eventful first half. It was not pretty but they were tough in the tackle, crossing well and winning free kicks in dangerous areas. I have no idea how Leeds did not manage to go in at half time at least 2-0 up but they somehow created about ten novel ways of not scoring a goal.
Firstly McCormack headed against the post from a good cross. Then Kebe headed over. McCormack’s lob was headed off the line by James. McCormack’s shot was saved by McCormack. McCormack’s shot from Konchesky’s awful back pass was brilliantly saved by Schmeichel and then kicked off the line. Lees’ header when unmarked went over the bar.
City rarely managed to get the ball on the ground. When that happened, however, they looked fast and dangerous breaking forward. Vardy smashed a shot against the post and Knockaert shot just over the bar from distance.
And so the first half score somehow ended 0-0, much to the relief of City fans. Surely City could up their performance and possibly Leeds run out of steam and ideas.
The second half was very different and less eventful. City, through James and Drinkwater, started to get a grip of midfield, although few clear chances were created. Konchesky got a better control of Kebe and Dyer managed at least to get into the game. I cannot remember McCormack having any chances in the second half or having a dominant role.
The match started to draw towards the last twenty minutes. Vardy, Morgan and Knockaert had been booked and some players were tiring. De Laet had a slight hamstring problem and he was replaced by Wasilewski. He moved into the centre with Moore at right back.
Vardy was replaced by our latest and intriguing signing Kevin Phillips. King replaced Lloyd Dyer who had not made much of an impression on the game. Phillips immediately seemed to pick up the pace of the match and this injected more movement up front just as Leeds seemed prepared to settle for what would have been a well-deserved point. King and Phillips both shot over as City sensed an opportunity for three points.
Liam Moore (he’s one of our own…) had injured his shoulder quite badly when colliding with the goalpost in a City attack. He was still holding his shoulder badly when he received the ball from Drinkwater with two minutes of the match to go, but this did not stop him moving forward to the right wing and sending in a low cross. In an instant Phillips dummied the ball, confusing the Leeds defender. Nugent turned smartly and snaffled a goal just before Kenny could get to the ball- a true poacher’s goal created by a veteran striker.
And so City easily saw out the game 1-0 and it was cruel on Leeds who deserved a draw for their overall performance. It reminded me of many City games last season when we dominated without scoring and then lost to a sucker punch from the opposition at the end.
We must remember later on in the season that, on this occasion, we used up a lot of luck. It was a gritty performance and even though some players, Konchesky in particular, had an average game, no-one hid from the ball and the team spirit and determination, including those on the bench, shone through.
The result from Burnley afterwards allowed us to inch forward a little more in the table from our rivals, although QPR are still on our coat tails. It’s going to be an exciting second half of the season…..
Leicester: Schmeichel, De Laet (Wasilewski 64), Morgan, Moore, Konchesky, Knockaert, Drinkwater, James, Dyer (King 80), Nugent, Vardy (Phillips 75). Subs not used: Hammond, Logan, Mahrez, Wood
Leeds: Kenny, Byram, Lees, Pearce, Warnock, Kebe (Peltier 85), Brown, Austin, Stewart, Varney (Diouf 86), McCormack. Subs not used: Murphy, Wootton, Poleon, Cairns, Mowatt
Attendance: 22,678 Referee: Mike Dean
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