Bournemouth 2 City 1
Report by Kate Thompson
On a lovely autumn day for a football match, the City fans were bathed in warm sunshine but sadly this was the best thing about the day. Rodgers made one change from the Forest game, with Daka starting instead of Vardy.
Under-21 captain Sammy Braybrooke was on the bench. City were playing in the third strip when they had no need to change from their normal blue, something that I thought they were no longer doing !
The team started brightly and deservedly went 1-0 up in the tenth minute; after a VAR check the goal, from the lively Daka, was allowed. At which point a section of fans started to sing ‘How **** must you be, we’re winning away’; I think it is time to drop this, as we have now lost three away matches on the bounce after taking the lead!
The rest of the half was fairly uneventful and City seemed to be in control, but the second half was a completely different matter – the archetypal game of two halves.
The players started passing backwards and sideways – I thought they had been instructed to do this but, listening to one of Rodgers’ interviews afterwards, this was clearly not the case. He was questioning why they were doing it, something most Leicester fans would heartily agree with.
Individual errors from normally sound players led to a Bournemouth equaliser in the 68th minute and what proved to be the winning goal only three minutes later. The Leicester players seemed unable to string any decent passes together and nobody had a good game. Soumare and Maddison were booked; Maddison’s foul was a piece of petulance which I thought he had got rid off, and apparently, he is now only one booking away from a suspension.
Castagne was replaced by Amartey in the 67th minute and Daka by Vardy. It was unfortunate for Amartey that the two Bournemouth goals were scored very soon after he came on and there was some surprise at the switch. However, Rodgers said afterwards that Castagne was struggling after a blow to the face in the first half and, considering the awful injury he had playing for Belgium, it was a sensible precaution to take him off.
Soumare was replaced by Iheanacho in the 79th minute and Justin by Perez in the 86th. I didn’t realise that Perez had come on, presumably because we had all given up by this time! So a long journey back home to Hertfordshire but not quite as far as the long-suffering fans based in the county.
Rodgers is quoted as saying that he can sort it out but it is looking increasingly unlikely that he knows how to. I would like to see him given more time, but I imagine I am in a growing minority prepared to stick with him.
Bournemouth: Neto; Fredericks, Mepham, Senesi, Smith: Christie, Cook, Lerma, Tavernier: Billing: Solanke. Subs: Travers, Stephens, Marcondes, Stacey, Lowe, Dembele, 21 Kieffer Moore, Anthony, Zemura.
Leicester City: Ward: Castagne, Evans, Faes, Justin: Soumare; Maddison, Tielemans, Dewsbury-Hall, Barnes: Daka. Subs: Vardy, Albrighton, Iheanacho Pérez, Amartey, Praet, Iversen, Thomas, Braybrooke.
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