The Trust would like to welcome new contributor Marc Coleman to the match reporting team
City 4 Huddersfield Town 2
As I entered the Walkers Stadium a few minutes before kick off the first thing you became aware of was the noise and the number of Terriers supporters that had made their way down from Yorkshire for this much awaited clash. I always think that the size of the away support is usually a good indicator that the opposition team is in good form and their fans believe they are going to witness their team take three points away with them.
Nigel Pearson made one change for match with Mark Davies replaced in the centre of the park by Tom Cleverley, the Man Utd player who was making his full Foxes debut. City lined up in our usual four four two formation which has served us so well this season. With Matty Fryatt and Steve Howard leading the front line as per normal.
The early exchanges suggested the match would be end to end, high on energy with the potential for plenty of goals. So it was to prove… however the problem was that first goal was to drop into the City net after a right sided corner from the Terriers was swung over into the centre of the City area for an unmarked Phil Jevons, whose overhead kick dropped over the head of David Martin, 1-0 to the away team!
Thankfully the Huddersfield lead was to only last five minutes as on eleven minutes a cross shot by Bruno Berner on left hand side of midfield caught out the Terriers backline and Michael Morrison who had pushed forward was left with the simple task of slotting the ball home from close range. The next thirty minutes of the half was poor from City as Huddersfield dominated possession and it was hard to tell who was the top of the table team! The Foxes seemed content to sit back and see what the opposition could throw at us….
At half time the general consensus amongst City fans seemed to be that Huddersfield Town had played their best stuff in the first half and had huffed and puffed and yet still they were only drawing with us. So at 1-1 it was City’s to win in the second half. Nigel Pearson made one change at half time with the injured Gilbert being replaced with Joe Mattock and a slight alteration to the City backline allowing Mattock to take the left back slot.
City started brightly and an Andy King effort after a Steve Howard head down went just wide of the upright, however the Terriers still had one more trick up their sleeve and on 52 minutes Huddersfield's Keigan Parker was left on the edge of the area with too much time and space which enabled him to curl a looping ball into the left hand side of David Martin's goal, the away fans erupted in celebration and almost all of the Terriers players celebrated together by running to the away dug out, this seemed over the top considering most of the half was still to play. And so it proved.
At 2-1 down this was the wake up call City needed and it only took three minutes for City to respond, a great long range free kick by Matt Oakley was nodded on by the superb Steve Howard leaving the unmarked Bruno Berner at the far post with a simple header from six yards. 2-2 and game on!
The next ten minutes was dominated by excellent attacking play by City, with Tom Cleverley and Andy King winning all the 50-50 balls in midfield, and with Matt Oakley putting dangerous balls into the Huddersfield Box, however it was his pass to Lloyd Dyer on the left hand side in the 62nd minute which changed the game for the good, Dyer found Steve Howard in space in front of goal on the left and his on target effort somehow deflected into the net off Matty Fryatt's chest, it didn’t matter how it went in, City were 3-2 up!
City were bubbling over with enthusiasm and confidence, and it was clear that it wouldn’t be long before this game was put to bed by the mighty Foxes, and sure enough on 73 minutes a superb corner from the left hand side by Matt Oakley met the head of Steve Howard who headed it across goal for the unmarked Jack Hobbs to score his first City goal and put us 4-2 up. The final fifteen minutes of the match petered out as City decided to shut up shop and Huddersfield seemed devoid of ideas, City's 20 minute spell turning a 2-1 deficit into a 4-2 advantage had stunned the Terriers and most of the 21,000 plus crowd.
There was one further controversy towards the end of the match as the Huddersfield left back Roberts decided to kick the ball away from play to which the referee decided to give him a yellow card, however this wasn’t enough for him as he argued with the official, to which the red card was shown to him!
Dickov replaced man of the match Steve Howard in the final minutes and at the final whistle fans and players applauded each other after another classic at the Walkers Stadium Fortress! City now sit on 60 points and seemingly 100 points and promotion by Easter is well within our grasp, Mr Mandaric get your cheque book out, were heading back up to the Championship.
Leicester: Martin, Gilbert (Mattock 46), Morrison, Hobbs, Berner, Oakley, Andy King, Cleverley, Dyer, Fryatt, Howard (Dickov 90). Subs Not Used: Pentney, Chambers, Gradel.
Booked: Gilbert, Howard. Goals: Morrison 11, Berner 59, Fryatt 63, Hobbs 73.
Huddersfield: Smithies, Holdsworth, Nathan Clarke, Butler, Williams, Cadamarteri, Goodwin, Collins, Roberts, Parker (Craney 76), Jevons. Subs Not Used: Glennon, Skarz, Tom Clarke, Berrett.
Sent Off: Roberts (88). Booked: Goodwin, Roberts. Goals: Jevons 6, Parker 51.
Att: 21,311 Ref: Richard Beeby (Northamptonshire).
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