The headline many Tigers fans hoped for today, but instead it’s the Leicester City Academy U18’s who travelled to Sunderland and came back as the top Academy side in the Country being crowned Premium League Champions.
Thracian from the Foxestalk message board made the journey North and provides his assessment of the day
Sunderland 2 City 2 (aet) City Won 4-3 on penalties
Super game, drama almost from first kick til Mattock's winning penalty in the shoot out – and the joyous outcome was that Leicester head to a prestigious international tournament in Dallas, USA as Academy League champions.
Max Gradel stunned the 4,597 crowd in the fourth minute with his 19th goal in 21 matches and what a goal it was – a sublime fast-passing move down the right involving Eric Odhiambo and Billy McKay before Gradel cut inside and unleashed an unstoppable left footer.
Hopes of a typical Leicester onslaught disappeared immediately however as, within a minute Sunderland won a corner and Jordan Henderson's high and curling cross deceived Carl Pentney passing over his head and into the far corner of the net. One-one with five minutes gone.
Leicester left-winger Ryan Beswick then had what looked like a reasonable claim for a penalty turned down barely two minutes later and that's how the game developed. Opportunities were as numerous as the Chance cards in a monopoly game…..
At this stage Leicester's front men looked ominously threatening and Odhiambo was next to waste a close range chance by handling the final through ball after work by Andy King and Beswick.
Sunderland's response should have given them the lead. Centre-forward Dave Dowson hit a shot from close range which Pentney failed to hold and with an open goal beckoning, Josh Home-Jackson smashed the ball gleefully for goal only to amaze the crowd and himself by seeing it thunder against the right hand post and out to safety.
Leicester rode more luck when Sunderland's swift-breaking midfield put Nathan Luscombe 's through and, although he was crowded into a toe poke across goal it fell to Home-Jackson who somehow pulled his shot wide of the left post from eight yards.
It really was a tale of two attacks because both defences were being ripped to shreds.
McKay's first touch passing was causing havoc and no sooner had he created one effort which Odhiambo flashed wide than he gave City the lead himself by rounding off a brilliant four-man attack with Andy King feeding the final ball for the simplest of finishes. It was McKay's 17th goal in 22 games.
It was all non-stop entertainment and to detail every chance and half-chance would fill a small book but the irrepressible Billy McKay, had two marvelous opportunities to perhaps settle the game. First a pass by Scott Lycett beat the Sunderland back-line but McKay delayed his shot and it was half-blocked – looping harmlessly clear.
His second chance was better still as this time he spun off the last defender, found himself central and completely clear in the box only to have his apparent tap in smothered by keeper Trevor Carson.
For the rest of the second half – at least half an hour – it seemed like Leicester would regret their carelessness.
Sunderland, clearly schooled by Roy Keane in the Manchester United mould stretched Leicester so far on the flanks that their wingers could have sold programmes to the fans and, with an overlapping right-back also causing havoc they dominated the game as I've rarely seen against Leicester's Under 18's before.
Left-winger Nathan Luscombe delivered a series of the best crosses from near the byeline that you will ever see. Two flashed untouched across the city six yard line, another cross resulted in a header which hit Pentney's crossbar and finally, after 80 minutes defender Robbie Weir launched himself forward to meet a Jordan Henderson cross with a powerful downward header that was never going to be saved.
On top of all this Andy King made one vital interception, headed another goalbound effort off the line, Lycett made a couple of last ditch blocks, Scott Garner did the same and Leicester started to looked exhausted, frail and battered.
Extra-time was a bit of an anti-climax. Half-chances came and went but basically no-one had the energy left to score because, like two evenly-matched boxers in a bare knuckle fight they had simply traded blows to the point where no-one had the energy to delivery a knock-out.
The penalties shoot-out came and Leicester goalkeeper Carl Pentney was a hero straight away, saving Jack Colback's first effort to put pressure on Sunderland. With centre-back Gavin Donaghue looping Sunderland's third penalty high and weakly wide of goal and Ashley Chambers, Eric Odhiambo and Max Gradel having professionally despatched three kicks for Leicester the visitors led 3-1.
Luscombe scored for 3-2, Lycett's well-hit shot for Leicester was saved, Michael Kay made it 3-3 with Sunderland's last scheduled kick and that left Leicester left-back Joe Mattock the chance to take the trophy.
His kick was hardly convincing – scuffed weakly and towards the right corner but he'd deceived Carson, in the ball went and the tickets to America were booked.
‘Picture courtesy of Raymonds/lcfc.com’
Mattock who converted the vital penalty to seal the crown
In the match heroes? Arguably all of them for winning a prestigious competition but – fabulous game as it was – this wasn't City at their best.
Billy McKay was top man for me for his goal and for orchestrating lots of clever first hour moves with his subtle one-touch passing. Yes he missed two chances he should have taken but once he was substituted Odhiambo barely functioned again and Leicester's attack looked irrecoverably blunted.
Another top man was right-back Lee Cox. He's come into the side with the departure of Tom Tejan-Sie and how City miss that little dynamo in midfield. Cox had to handle midfield duties and later the dangerous Luscombe at right-back and in both departments he steadied City when they were faltering.
Gradel deserves mention for his superb goal and for being a constant and highly skillful threat to Sunderland's back line for the best part of an hour before cramp and the result of one or two whacks took its toll.
City: Pentney, Cox, Mattock, Magunda, Lycett, Garner, Gradel, King, McKay,Odhiambo.
Attendance: 4,597
The views expressed in this report are the opinions of the fan nominated to file the report only and do not represent the views of the Foxes Trust organisation