Leicester City 4 Nottingham Forest 0 – 3rd October 2022
Report by Tish Krokosz
When your team is bottom of the Premier League, you have to expect a certain amount of criticism and cope with the negativity that will accompany it. A lot of the talk before the match was regarding the continuation of Brendan Rodgers as City manager. The press and media have been fanning the flames of discontent regarding the future of players such as Maddison and Tielemans. There was going to be an inevitable feeling of nervousness for the City players at the beginning of this East Midlands derby – or so you would think.
The players, themselves, had other thoughts. Buoyed on by a vociferous home crowd, who had recalled all of the taunting, goading, insulting repertoire of songs and chants appropriate for a neighbouring team, City started on the front foot and were positive from the kick-off and for the next forty-five minutes.
Dewsbury-Hall stated in an interview before the match that revenge for the FA Cup defeat earlier in the year was on the cards. He tried to avenge that within the first minute with a shot on goal that went harmlessly over the bar.
A minute later, City had to defend two corners in succession and passed the test to mildly ironic cheers. From that point they took control of midfield and the traffic was mostly one way towards the Forest goal. A header from Vardy and another shot from Dewsbury-Hall both went wide. Vardy then wasted a header and, after a wonderful pass from Barnes, shot straight at the keeper.
City had a wake-up call in the twenty-first minute when a rare Forest attack bisected the centre backs and allowed Awoniyi to run at goal with just Ward to beat. A Forest goal at this stage would have been disastrous and the home crowd were relieved to see the shot hit a post and bounce to safety.
At this point Maddison took over. He was creating havoc on the right and turning the Forest defence inside out. It was appropriate that when the visitors were unable to clear a Barnes attack, the ball fell to Maddison in the penalty area and he had time to have a shot at goal. There was a heavy deflection off McKenna and the ball flew into the net with Henderson going in the opposite direction.
Sometimes a game or a career or a season or a player’s or manager’s reputation can hang on one piece of luck. City had been dealt two such pieces of fortune within five minutes of one another and they did not waste them. A couple of minutes after the goal, the ball was in the net again. An attack down the left side of the field ended with Barnes picking up the ball on the corner of the penalty area. He pushed it onto his right foot took one step forward and unleashed an unstoppable shot past the despairing hands of Henderson into the far right of the goal. City fans were ecstatic at this point.
The heads of the Forest players dropped. They looked at each other in bewilderment and showed that they had nothing to respond. City were dominant and in complete control and with a swagger that I have not seen since the first half of the Brentford match at the beginning of the season.
Less than ten minutes later, Dewsbury-Hall showed his determination with a surge down the middle of the park but was unceremoniously tripped by Kouyaté on the edge of the D. This was ideal territory for a Maddison free-kick. He did not disappoint. His shot curled round the wall and bounced into the net off the right post.
City went in at half-time full of confidence after a show of determination, skill and desire. The intent to win every ball was apparent and the 3-0 lead was worthy of a team performance.
There were team changes for both camps for the second half. Ndidi was replaced by Soumaré, probably as a precaution after Ndidi’s injury scare on international duty. The visitors brought on Yates, Aurier and Freuler for O’Brien, Williams and Kouyaté. The last two had received yellow cards during the first forty-five minutes and had a torrid time against Barnes and Dewsbury-Hall.
Cooper was probably pleased with his changes because the men in red began coming forward more and certainly had more possession of the ball than they had in the first half. Five minutes into the half they had a clear run on goal with just Ward to beat but somehow managed to make an absolute mess of the shot which went wide. Johnson was given licence to move around more rather than sticking to the right wing and one run in particular scythed through the City midfield but was luckily stopped on the edge of the penalty area.
Meanwhile, there were further changes on both sides in personnel with Dennis and Mangala replacing Awoniyi and Lingard for Forest and Daka coming on for Vardy. This change paid dividends for City after ten minutes when a cross from Maddison on the right was back-heel flicked in by Daka. Both cross and shot were delivered at pace and the bemused Henderson was rooted to his spot. The home crowd were loving this and were in full voice for the next twenty minutes to the end of the match.
Tielemans and Maddison were given a rest with ten minutes to go and were replaced by Praet and Albrighton.
The score remained at 4-0 to the end and City were off the bottom of the table with their opponents taking over that position. Rodgers and the players had passed the test asked of them with flying colours and the defence had not conceded a goal for the first time this season. I had not seen Faes play before and I was impressed with his defensive work and the way he carried the ball out from the back. It was good to see the team wanting to move forward more quickly and not be reticent with the ball pinging between the back four.
The next task is to continue this style and achieve a run of good results and move up the table to where this band of skilful players belongs. Confidence can work wonders.
Leicester City: Ward, Justin, Evans, Faes, Castagne, Ndidi (Soumaré HT), Dewsbury-Hall, Tielemans (Praet 80), Maddison (Albrighton 85), Barnes, Vardy (Daka 61). Subs not used: Iversen, Thomas, Amartey, Pérez, Iheanacho
Nottingham Forest: Henderson, Kouyaté (Freuler HT), McKenna, Cook, Williams (Aurier HT), O’Brien (Yates HT), Gibbs-White, Lingard (Mangala 69), Lodi, Johnson, Awoniyi (Dennis 62). Subs not used: Hennessey, Worrall, Surridge, Boly
Referee: Robert Jones Attendance: 32,202
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