City 2 West Ham 1
Report by Colin Hall
A header from Andy King four minutes from the end of extra time proved enough to settle a pulsating 3rd Round League Cup tie in Leicester City's favour against high-flying visitors West Ham.
The 2-1 victory was no more than the stand-in skipper – given the armband ahead of more experienced colleagues – and his side deserved after a rousing performance that was warmly received by a crowd of over 21000.
Claudio Ranieri rang the changes for this clash, with only Gokhan Inler being retained from the eleven that started the previous weekend's fixture at Stoke.
But the manager's faith in his fringe players paid off after only six minutes when Joe Dodoo, making his home debut, gave City the lead. The youngster pounced from close range after an attempted clearance had been blocked.
The Foxes were rampant in the early stages, with Leo Ulloa and Marc Albrighton both going close, and a desperate block by James Collins preventing a second Dodoo goal. Then a superb Ulloa flick sent Andrej Kramaric on a mazy run, only for the striker to miscue his attempted chip over visiting keeper Adrian.
Although the West Ham line-up contained several more first-choice players than City's, they struggled to gain a foothold in the game until securing a rather fortuitous leveller midway through the half.
A long range effort from Mauro Zarate took a deflection from Marcin Wasilewski to wrongfoot Mark Schwarzer in the City goal, ensuring that City's wait for a clean sheet – and a promised pizza fest from their manager – would continue.
After Schwarzer was forced into a smart save from an Aaron Cresswell free-kick, Dodoo almost restored City's lead on the stroke of half-time, but sent an excellent Albrighton cross narrowly wide.
The home side continued to create chances after the break, with Adrian again producing a string of saves to deny Albrighton, Ulloa and Christian Fuchs. However Hammers sub Dimitri Payet, a scorer against City in the league clash earlier in the campaigm, almost snatched a winner for the visitors in the closing stages with a shot which only just cleared the crossbar.
City stepped up a gear in extra-time as anxieties grew in the stands about a potential penalty shootout, with Yohan Benalouane and Jeffrey Schlupp forcing Adrian into further action.
At the other end, the visitors had a strong penalty claim refused after a tussle between Mark Noble and Danny Simpson. The decision by referee Peter Bankes looked highly contentious – especially as he booked Noble for an alleged dive – but subsequent TV evidence vindicated his decision.
The much-vaunted Riyad Mahrez spurned a glorious chance to add to his goals tally when sent clear following a stray pass, hitting his shot straight at Adrian.
Visiting manager Slaven Bilic made his intentions clear by introducing an extra defender in the closing minutes to see out the game. But his plans were torn to shreds within seconds as King connected with a deep Fuchs cross to send a looping header just inside the far post.
The win extends City's unbeaten run, including the last four games of last season, to 12 games in all competitions. It also confirmed the quality, depth and heart within the current squad and boosted hopes of a first trip to Wembley in 16 years.
Although many Foxes will be disappointed with an away draw at Hull in the next round, it is a venue where we have gained reward in the past – most notably last season with a Mahrez goal that earned us all three points – and the travelling hordes will go there in optimistic mood.
City: (4-4-2) Schwarzer; Simpson, Wasilewski, Benalouane, Fuchs; Dodoo (Kanté 82), King (c), Inler, Albrighton (Schlupp 67); Ulloa, Kramarić (Mahrez 82). Subs not used: Schmeichel, De Laet, Chilwell, Blyth
Goals: Dodoo 6, King 116
Booked: Simpson, Wasilewski, Fuchs, Schlupp
West Ham (4-3-3):Adrian; Jenkinson, Tomkins, Collins, Cresswell; Obiang (Reid 113), Noble (c), Lanzini; Moses, Carroll (Payet 64), Zarate (Kouyate 76). Subs not used: Randolph, Oxford, Lee, Cullen
Goal: Zarate 26
Booked: Obiang, Noble, Zarate
Attendance: 21,268 (2,263 visitors) Referee: Peter Bankes
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