Leeds 1 City 2
For the second time in eight weeks, City emerged from a trip to Leeds with a 2-1 victory. And, as in the League Cup tie, Steve Howard was the Foxes' hero, with his third winning goal against the Yorkshire club in the teams' last three encounters.
Both sides would have viewed this clash with a certain degree of trepidation. City, who began the game still in the Championship drop zone, had conceded ten goals in their last two away games, while the home side had let in eleven goals in their last two midweek fixtures.
City boss Sven-Goran Eriksson made just one change from the side that drew at Hull the previous weekend, with Howard relegated to a space on the bench and replaced by Frank Moussa.
But any fears among the sizeable travelling contingent that the Foxes would adopt a cautious defensive approach were soon dispelled by an opening 20-minute blitz which saw shots rain in on the home goal.
Moussa, Andy King, Martyn Waghorn and Paul Gallagher all wasted chances to put the Foxes in front, while Bruno Berner saw a shot turned against the bar by home keeper Jason Brown…..
With City completely dominant in midfield, home manager Simon Grayson was forced into a tactical switch after only half an hour, bringing on Bradley Johnson for an ineffective Sanchez Watt.
However the visitors continued to enjoy the bulk of possession, restricting the hosts to a couple of sporadic half-chances from set pieces. Nevertheless, as the break arrived with the scoreline still goalless, many City fans felt unease at the chances that had been squandered.
If Grayson had hoped that the second half would bring an improvement in his side's fortunes, he would have been sorely disappointed. The second half began in similar fashion to the first, with both Moussa and Waghorn narrowly failing to give City the lead they deserved.
Finally the breakthrough arrived just after the hour, when on-loan right-back Kyle Naughton burst into the Leeds area and saw his shot loop into the net via a deflection from Neill Collins.
The Leeds efforts to force an equaliser frequently foundered on a rock-solid central defensive pairing of Jack Hobbs and Curtis Davies, who played as if they had been partners for years rather than just two games. Meanwhile, City's rhythm was scarcely interrupted by the introduction of Howard and Yuki Abe for Moussa and the out-of-sorts Gallagher.
With ten minutes remaining' King intercepted a loose ball in midfield and perfectly-weighted pass sent Howard through to put City two up and prompt a mass exodus of home fans. However Luciano Becchio gave Leeds a lifeline three minutes later when heading home a superb cross from sub (and former Fox) Max Gradel.
City, though, kept possession sufficiently during the closing stages and comfortably saw off hopes of a home revival. On the evidence of this performance, Eriksson is already having a positive influence on the side.
Even the continually intrusive and occasionally officious behaviour of some of the local stewards throughout the game could not dampen the delight with which the travelling hordes greeted the final whistle, and their side's first League win on the road this season.
During the past six and a half years of exile from the top flight, City have witnessed many false dawns under previous managers, including one at this very venue during Paulo Sousa's brief spell at the helm.
But the promise that was evident in all areas of the field during this performance suggests that maybe, just maybe, Eriksson could turn out to be the real deal.
Leeds United: Brown, Connolly, Collins, Naylor, McCartney, Snodgrass (Gradel 70), Howson, Faye (Kilkenny 70), Watt (Johnson 30), Becchio, Somma. Sub (not used): Alnwick, Bruce, Hughes, Nunez.
Goal: Becchio (83) Booked: Gradel (89)
Leicester City: Weale, Naughton, Davies, Hobbs, Berner, King, Oakley, Wellens, Moussa (Howard 77), Gallagher (Abe 60), Waghorn. Subs (not used): Neilson, Morrison, Moreno, Logan, Kennedy.
Goals: Naughton (63), Howard (80)
Referee: D Whitestone (Northamptonshire). Attendance: 22,775
Colin Hall is Lord Mayor of Leicester and Chair of the Forget-me-not appeal for enhanced dementia care in the city.
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