Derby 2 City 2
Report by Colin Hall
An 87th minute equaliser by Leicester City captain Wes Morgan earned his team a home replay against neighbours Derby County in a lively FA Cup 4th round clash at a rainswept Pride Park.
Although – once again – too many players in the City line-up failed to do themselves justice on the road, the spirit and tenacity on show, especially during the second half after the introduction of subs Demarai Gray and Riyad Mahrez, meant that the 2-2 draw was a fair return
.
With the optimism among the City fanbase at the announcement of this fixture having been heavily tempered by two heavy defeats in the interim, Claudio Ranieri once again rang the changes. Ben Chilwell, Mark Albrighton and Andy King replaced Gray, Papy Mendy and Wilfrid Ndidi in the starting 11.
The visitors began strongly in tricky conditions, with Shinji Okazaki featuring prominently in attack. This start brought its reward, albeit in bizarre circumstances.
After eight minutes a Marc Albrighton corner was headed across goal by Robert Huth, only to be intercepted by home defender Baird, who laid the ball back to team-mate Bent. However, instead of clearing the ball upfield, the home striker miscued it into his own net, to the bemusement of home and away fans alike.
But hopes that this lead would calm the nerves among the visiting ranks soon proved to be misguided. The rams, eager to prove themselves on prime time TV against the reigning champions, gradually made their numerical advantage count in central midfield and put the City defence under increasing pressure.
The defensive weaknesses that have been so often exploited in recent weeks were once again apparent in the Derby equaliser. Kasper Schmeichel punched a right-wing corner straight to the feet of Hughes, whose cross gave Bent the chance to head home and atone for his earlier error.
City were stung into a response, with both Okazaki and Jamie Vardy coming close to restoring their lead, but further aberrations at the other end again brought punishment. A weak Danny Simpson clearance was seized upon by Bryson, who shrugged off some fairly feeble challenges to fire home past Schmeichel.
During the interval some frenzied discussions took place among the away contingent on who would be the first to be subbed. It transpired that Christian Fuchs, whose form has dipped notably in recent weeks, was the player chosen to receive that unwanted accolade.
His replacement by Gray sparked a notable increase in tempo by the visitors, who seemed able to create chances virtually at will during the opening stages of the second half. But a combination of the woodwork and superb work by Carson in the home goal kept City at bay.
Meanwhile further indecision by Schmeichel and Simpson almost allowed Bryson to extend the home side's lead, but the midfielder could only find the side-netting with his header
Ranieri reshuffled the pack further, bringing Mahrez and Ahmed Musa into the fray in an effort to make the vital breakthrough. Too often, though, they were starved of service as the home side sat deep seeking to preserve their advantage.
Yet just when the visitors seemed to have run out of both energy and ideas, another setpiece provided salvation. Gray's corner was met by a Morgan header which neither Carson nor a defender on the line could keep out.
Both goalkeepers were called into action during a frantic finale, but in the end the draw was probably a fair result.
Will this fightback prove a turning-point in City's season? Time will tell on that, but on the evidence of this and other recent encounters, at least one defensive reinforcement is needed before the end of the current transfer window.
Too many of the current squad have regressed to the levels they were at two winters ago and it is little surprise to learn that certain players – including the captain – are being linked with a return to the lower leagues.
While failure to progress to the next round of this competition would now be a scandal and a travesty, there is little hope on current evidence of this side showing enough quality to overcome the next side of any standard that it faces within it.
In the meantime, Ranieri and the Blue Army must hope the forthcoming games against Burnley, Manchester United and Swansea will yield sufficient reward to keep the side from sinking into the Premier League drop zone.
Derby (4-3-3): Carson; Baird, Keogh, Pearce, Olsson; Johnson, Hughes (Butterfield 63), Bryson (Camara 87); Ince, Bent, Russell (Vydra 84). Subs not used: Christie, Shackell, De Sart, Mitchell.
Goals: Bent 21, Bryson 40.
Booking: Pearce.
City (4-4-1-1): Schmeichel, Simpson, Morgan (c), Huth, Fuchs (Gray 46), Albrighton (Musa 74), Drinkwater, King, Chilwell, Okazaki (Mahrez 64), Vardy. Subs not used: Zieler, Benalouane, Mendy, Ndidi.
Goals: Bent o.g. 8, Morgan 87.
Referee: Mark Clattenburg. Attendance: 25,079 (5,400 visitors)
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