Watford 3 City 3
This really was the proverbially game of two halves. In the first Leicester dominated an insipid home team, deservedly leading 2-0 at the interval. They then struggled to contain a resurgent Watford who stormed to a 3-2 lead before the Foxes equalised going into injury time.
Before the game both teams had twelve points from seven games with Watford three better on goal difference. Leicester replaced N’Guessan with King and the injured Dyer with Gallagher to stiffen up the mid field. Tunchev came back to the bench. Vicarage Road has become a three sided stadium with their bus stop stands being wrapped in scaffolding and empty.
With the home team set up in a strange 4-5-1 lone striker formation Leicester eased into the game and took a lead after fifteen minutes when Fryatt crossed from the right and Eustace gave a cheap penalty as the ball bounced up into his arm. Fryatt converted by driving the ball just left of the centre for his sixth of the campaign (nineteen minutes) – he has scored in five of the last six Championship matches.….
Leicester doubled the lead eleven minutes later when the same player, put through just over half way, dribbled to the edge of the penalty area, turned inside the last defender and slotted under the advancing goalie. Up to half time the Foxes then played out their best forty-five minutes of the season so far, completely shutting out any Hornet’s threat whilst creating further chances themselves. Berner and King were both booked for obstructive tackles.
After the interval Watford brought on the long injured Helguson and reshaped their formation giving much more weight up front. They were urgent on the ball and closed down quickly and just when it seemed City had weathered the early storm Graham scored on fifty-seven minutes.
Thereafter Watford enjoyed a purple patch. Leicester developed a soft centre in their defence being vulnerable to angled crosses from the right. Helguson scored twice at the back post in almost identical fashion as the game was turned on its head by the seventy-fourth minute. Leicester’s cause was not helped when Wellens went off injured replaced by Adams just as the momentum was building against them at 2-1 up.
The passing rhythm and mid field bite of the first half had disappeared and for a period of time City were hanging on. Helguson himself went off injured after thirty very effective minutes contribution to the game and the visitors slowly passed their way back into some kind of recognisable shape.
Manager Pearson had introduced N’Guessan and Waghorn. N’Guessan glanced against his own woodwork and then scored wonderfully at the other end with a towering back post header from a Waghorn cross to secure City a point and maintain the season’s momentum. Five minutes of injury time brought more excitement but no more goals.
For a neutral, if such a person exists, this was a fascinating game – Championship football at its best. For a Leicester fan, it was a huge improvement on the last visit to Watford, a drab 0-1 evening defeat against ten men in Holloway’s relegation season. The Watford programme quoted Wayne Brown as saying that Leicester were “upwardly mobile” – this performance did nothing to dull the excitement of the journey.
City: Weale; Neilson, Hobbs, Brown, Berner, Oakley, A King, Wellens, Gallagher, Fryatt, Howard. Subs: Logan, McGivern, Tunchev, Adams (64 for Wellens), N'Guessan (73 for Gallagher), Waghorn (73 for Fryatt), Kermorgant.
Booked: Berner, A King.
Watford: Loach; Mariappa, Lansbury, Cowie, Graham, Doyley, Jenkins, Cleverley, Cathcart, Eustace, Hodson. Subs: Helguson (46 for Lansbury), Harley (86 for Cleverley), Lee, Bennett, Hoskins, Ellington (82 for Helguson), Bryan.
Referee: C Pawson. Attendance: 14,647.
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