City 2 West Ham 1
Report by Eddie Blount
An 86th minute goal from substitute Andy King gave Leicester a precious three points at the start of the run-in to the end of City’s first Premiership campaign for a decade. Ten minutes earlier the 32 000 crowd had been treated to a rendition of ‘We are staying up’ from the Hammers fans; King’s goal prompted an equally spirited version of the same chant from delirious City fans in spite of the fact that there remained four minutes of normal time and four more of added time. Believe me those eight minutes seemed like a mini-lifetime!
This game could easily have been anything from 2-1 to 5-5. Unlike the turgid bus-parking affairs you get when a fellow relegation candidate is in town this was largely an open affair with both sides missing more chances than they took. City got off to a great start with a 25-yard left-footed volley from Cambiasso in the 12th minute hitting the inside of the post and nestling in the back of the net for a change rather than bouncing out to safety.
It’s no secret that City have had more than their fair share of bad luck this season and the thought occurred that just when we really need it the Gods are going to shine favourably upon us. That thought was put on hold almost immediately when City broke quickly and Ulloa was upended in the penalty area for an uncontested penalty. The thought of being 2-0 up before the match had seriously started was almost too much to bear for the fans. And clearly for David Nugent too! His weakly struck shot was a doddle for keeper Adrian providing he dived the right way – and he did! Would we come to rue this golden chance being missed?
The Hammers responded by mounting attack after attack and you have to wonder why City connived at this by sitting back in numbers. The ball pinged back and forth across the City box and in the 25th minute the experienced Nolan missed a simple headed chance from ten yards dead central when he put the ball well wide. No wonder he held his head in his hands. Some of his team-mates looked as though they would have liked to hold it in theirs!
This was but a short reprieve for City as West Ham deservedly equalised after 32 minutes with a gift of a goal. Young City full-back Schlupp creates a mixture of reactions from fans who admire his pace and tackling but despair of his poor reading af the game. His detractors had a field day when a long diagonal ball from the Hammers caught Schlupp marking empty space and not his winger. The ball sailed over Schlupp’s head was instantly brought under control in the absence of his marker by Kouyate and smashed unceremoniously into Schmeichel’s net. Pearson reacted predictably on the nearby touchline. 1-1 at the interval and all to play for.
The second half saw plenty of penalty area action from both sides but was just shaded by City. The Gods favoured us again halfway through when a West Ham shot hit the inside of the post and rebounded to a City player! Both sides created chances to keep the capacity crowd on the edge of their seats.
Ulloa was replaced by Kramaric who gave his most impressive home performance to date, swaying first one way then the other, often several times, before releasing the ball into the danger area. A great moment came when he beat the same player several times before smashing the ball past Adrian only for Cresswell to make a magnificent clearance off the line.
Inevitably Kramaric was heavily involved in the goal when it came with the clock ticking. He received the ball at the far post, controlled it, weaved one way then the other and back again before finding King a few yards from goal. Credit to King for resisting the temptation to break the net but prodded the ball in off the keeper’s knee.
The crowd reacted as only condemned men pardoned at the last minute can. Just time for Vardy, who played well, to miss when clear through on Adrian and then further euphoric scenes as referee Clattenburg blew the final whistle.
How many of us saw the connection between burying a King a few days ago and in return a King scoring the winning goal? You can’t help but think that this was Richard III’s way of thanking us. I can hear Gary Lineker now on Match of the Day finishing by saying, ‘A last gasp three points for Leicester today. They can’t, can they?’
City: Schmeichel, de Laet (King 79), Morgan, Huth, Schlupp, Mahrez (Albrighton 45), James, Cambiasso, Nugent, Vardy, Ulloa (Kramaric 72)
West Ham: Adrian, Jenkinson, Collins, Reid, Cresswell, Noble, Song (de Cavalho 88), Kouyate, Downing, Nolan (Amalfitano 65), Sakho (Cole 80)
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