Scunthorpe 1 City 1
Leicester's players slumped to the ground as Scunthorpe stole an equaliser with the last kick of the game and their first meaningful attempt on goal on Saturday. Whilst Nigel Pearson refused to criticise his players, a view I shared as the goal was completely out of the blue, our failure to wrap the game up long before half time meant that we missed the opportunity to extend our cushion in third place.
Going into games as favourites was a mantle our players bore admirably last season, but winning away games is a tough challenge we must rise to if we are to maintain this fantastic promotion challenge. Travelling to the game by train and stopping for a few prior beers in the superb Honest Lawyer pub with a Scunny-supporting mate, he and his fellow fans were clear that a point would be a great result for them.
The only surprise for me in the line-up was the inclusion of Kermorgant on the right flank – surely Oakley or N'Guessen on our bench, or Gradel on Leeds' bench, would have been a better bet than the so-far ineffective Frenchman.
Glanford Park is a likeable ground – relatively new but all that can be seen above the modest stands is the tops of a few trees, giving the impression that you are in the wilderness and out of your comfort zone. However, Leicester immediately made themselves at home, scoring so early that the last time I recall being there to see such an early goal was Matt Elliot at Anfield in the late 90s…
A lofted ball forward was well controlled by Waghorn, finding himself between the centre backs, and he rolled the ball past their Irish No 2 keeper Murphy as he rushed out. The only downside to this goal was a depressing incident a few rows back, as it appeared that a group of lads accidently barged into a young boy, who was reduced to tears. However, when the Dad asked them politely to take it easy, they became aggressive towards him. This beggared belief and I don't need to labour the point to anyone with the intelligence to be on this website.
The early goal unfortunately only served to inspire Murphy, who kept us at bay with at least four fine saves in the rest of the half. Fryatt was soon in the thick of things, testing the keeper with a snapshot and then trying to sneak one in at the near post but having his mind read by the keeper. However, Murphy's best two saves were to react to claw away a deflected effort by Fryatt, and then to match a spectacular header by Kermorgant with a diving save.
At the back, the much-hailed home attack of Hooper and Hayes were toothless, with Brown majestic in defence, particularly the air, and Scunny limited to long shots by the dangerous McCann.
The second half was a real anti-climax and it is hard to say why. I am sure Pearson would not have told them to sit back and defend the narrow lead, but this is exactly what happened. Its always a let down in an away game when you don't get to see a goal in the net you are behind, but we never looked like getting close, especially as their 6 foot 7 inch centre back started to mop everything up. Despite this, I didn't get that nervous sick feeling as time passed. However, with the last move of the game, a dangerous cross was only partly cleared, and the substitute Woolford shot through a crowd of players to level the score.
Sadly I must end on a negative point. At full time one of the lads in the group I mentioned earlier was very vocal in abusing the players for 'throwing the game away'. As he came down the steps I politely pointed out that it was one of those things – just look back to Plymouth last week.
He reacted to this by saying that anyone applauding our players off (which was the vast majority of our following) was as much of a w***er as they were. I ended our conversation by again politely suggesting that the players didn't care what he thought, and neither did the fans. 30 seconds later as I was entering the toilets he appeared behind me and asked if I wanted a 'f***ing smack'.
The temptation to teach him a lesson was immense, but for many reasons a night in the cells and a criminal record is not something I fancied. People like that are of course not just a disgrace to Leicester, they are a disgrace to society. Does anyone else find their matchday often soured by having to put up with morons like this?
CITY: Weale 7, Neilson 5, Berner 6, Hobbs 7, Brown 9, Gallagher 7, Wellens 7, King 6, Kermorgant 5, Fryatt 8, Waghorn 7. Subs: Howard, N'Guessen
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