CREWE 0 CITY 3
I had to watch this game undercover from the home stand due to our demand for tickets. I've seen Leicester win in some famous stadiums in similar circumstances in the O'Neill era – including Old Trafford and Anfield – and never thought I'd add Gresty Road to that list.
Not to worry, things got off to a good start as I was told at the turnstile that I should go to the ticket office to have my £18 ticket reduced to £10 – a strange but welcome decision. Inside, the blokes on either side of me were keen to discuss proceedings with me – somewhat awkward as I knew nothing of Crewe's team and one of them struck me as the sort who may reveal my allegiances to the stewards so I kept quiet. The other bloke said to me, "look at Leicester – the fans, the management, the whole set-up – it’s totally different to us." Well, I should bloody well hope so too, I felt like saying – we should never have been here in the first place.
There was a great comment in a recent Fox editorial about our season being like "Gulliver in Lilliput, amazing the locals with our size wherever we went", and this certainly felt like it today, with two sides of the ground occupied by jubilant Leicester fans.
Crewe were all but down, the combination of results they needed to survive was so unlikely that they clearly didn't believe they could even achieve their side of the equation. I can't believe we had broken sweat in training this week, and the first half had an almost pre-season feel in the sun, with Leicester strictly in second gear but still the better side….
Dyer and Fryatt were our most effective players, running at young and timid opponents, and a keeper who looked uneasy dealing with a couple of long range efforts. There was also an entertaining five minutes when Howard received no sympathy from the ref when he ended up on the ground three times trying to roll his man from long balls. When this earned him the "you fat b" chant from the home fans, he lifted his shirt to show them that there was a bit of muscle there too.
Half time scores meant it was inevitable that Crewe would go down regardless of the second half, but they did have their best spell early after the break, hitting the bar with a deflected shot, and then having a volleyed goal rightly ruled offside.
But then Leicester showed why there will be two divisions between the sides. Firstly, Berner stroked home a shot from well outside the area – it was hard to tell from the touchline but it was hard not to agree with the home fans verdict that the keeper should not have been beaten from that position.
Ten minutes later another goal came from nothing, with Dyer running at the defence, getting a favourable ricochet, and then finding the top corner. Two minutes later it became a rout, Dyer playing in Fryatt for an expert finish. It was fitting that he scored the last goal of the season.
Hopefully we will be seeing most of these players again come August – they deserve it, although another striker or two and some midfield strengthening will be needed. I would like to see Henderson restored as our first choice keeper.
There was a nice end to the game, as I waited by the tunnel to see the players in. I thought it a bit odd that so many people in the Crewe end seemed to want to do the same. As our players approached, someone let out a Leicester shout and it turned out there were at least 20 of us undercover in there, and applauded the lads off in style.
City: Stockdale 6, Hobbs 7, Brown 6, Morrison 7, Mattock 7, Berner 6, King 5, Oakley 5, Dyer 8, Fryatt 8, Howard 7
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