Leicester City 2 – 1 Sheffield Wednesday
Report by Stuart Dawkins
There have been games this season when City have been as organised and skilful as at any time in the 40-plus years that I have been watching them. This Friday night match was not one of them. Winning the Championship does not require perfection every day – but it does require the ability to claim unlikely late draws, as against Yeovil and Wigan, and to claim the occasional lucky win, as in this match against Sheffield Wednesday.
It began well: Pearson reversed the personnel changes brought in for the Wigan game, and it was the regular first-eleven (minus the injured Vardy) who started. The first 15 minutes were classic 2013/14 City – they passed the ball tightly, out-ran and out-thought the Wednesday defence and it was no surprise when they went 1-0 up in the tenth minute.
Wood played the perfectly weighted pass to release Mahrez running into the box, he cut back, beat his defender and curled a low shot around the keeper into the net via the inside of the post. It was a slick move and a great finish.
The City crowd were in celebratory mood, and by this point most expected Sheffield to be dealt with very comfortably. Wednesday's first serious shot on goal did not come until the 25th minute, and that was a speculative long-range effort which Schmeichel easily saved.
City's passing game was consistently too good for Wednesday and they really should have scored more in this period of play; Nugent's attempt to replicate Mahrez's goal from the other wing being the best opportunity, but his curling shot rolled just wide.
Wednesday are a limited side, with little midfield flair, but throughout the whole game they were consistent in getting the ball forwards quickly and in using their two wingers. Indeed, on a number of occasions Wasilewski's defensive strength in the air helped to break up promising moves from the visitors.
As the half progressed, City's dominance of possession faded, their passes became less accurate and slowly but surely, Wednesday got into the game. In the 37th minute their lively left-winger, Antonio, scored with his third on-target shot of the match, turning inside and beating Schmeichel with a shot from the edge of the box – the City keeper only able to palm the ball inside the post.
City players and fans complained about an apparent foul committed on the half-way line in the build-up to the goal but, in truth, referee, Graham Scott, was pretty consistent throughout the match in letting play flow when others might have given free kicks for 'niggly' challenges.
Half time came with the score at 1-1. City had had the majority of possession, but had not used it effectively. Wood had held the ball up well and made some decent passes, but City missed Vardy's pace – a fact probably best demonstrated by the effectiveness of Wednesday's offside trap; I doubt they would have risked such a high line against Vardy's speed.
Sheffield made one change at half time, Llera replacing Onyewu. City made no changes in personnel, but were now struggling to play their passing game effectively. Their play was reminiscent of the Yeovil match: the flicks and flourishes which have been highlights of this season were simply not working, and so the team were looking a little sloppy.
After 55 minutes the usually-reliable Wasilewski gave the ball away, and Wednesday should have done better three-on-two in City's box. City were looking second best; Coke replaced the injured Loovens for Wednesday, and Pearson brought on Taylor-Fletcher for Wood.
Almost immediately, Mahrez was fouled on the edge of the Wednesday box in prime Knockaert-territory. Every City fan could predict where the Frenchman would aim his free kick – curling inside the far post – but Kirkland seemed to position himself too near the centre of the goal and got nowhere near to reaching the, admittedly well-struck, shot. Out of the blue, it was now 2-1 to Leicester.
The rest of the match was evenly balanced, with both sides creating chances. A generous six minutes of stoppage time was announced, and Wednesday will feel unfortunate that their pressure in this period did not result in an equaliser: City's defence performing heroics to block multiple shots in the box on a couple of occasions. The referee's whistle blew to shouts of 'Champions' from the City crowd.
Not, by any means a classic. However, since – unusually – I did not have the chance to write this match report until late Saturday afternoon, I can now say that the quality of the match will not be long-remembered, but its outcome – clinching the points that guaranteed Premier League football last season – certainly will be.
It is a shame that the Friday night kick-off, thanks to the all-pervasive power of Sky TV, meant that the fans did not have the opportunity to celebrate this achievement with the team at the end of the match.
Congratulations to the team, to Nigel Pearson and to the owners for their commitment to the club and their success. I'm sure most of us will happily settle for a sub-par performance and three points at least a few times during next season!
Teams
Leicester City: Schmeichel, de Laet, Schlupp, James, Wasilewski, Morgan, Mahrez, (Hammond – 79'), Drinkwater, Wood (Taylor-Fletcher – 59'), Nugent, Knockaert (Dyer – 90' ). Subs: Hammond, King, Dyer, Moore, Taylor-Fletcher, Logan, Phillips
Sheffield Wednesday: Kirkland, Buxton, Mattock, Palmer, Onyewu (Llera – 45'), Loovens (Coke – 57'), Lavery (Nuhiu – 71'), Lee, Best, Maguire, Antonio. Subs: Johnson, Coke, Helan, Martinez, Afobe, Llera, Nuhiu
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