Brighton 1 City 0
Report by Colin Hall
Leicester City's first visit to the plush new Amex Stadium ended in agonising and acrimonious fashion.
A 90th minute Will Buckley strike gave hosts Brighton victory in an ill-tempered, scrappy encounter which saw 3 players, 2 of them from City, given marching orders by ref Andy Woolmer.
Many fans among the 2383-strong City contingent were eager for their first glimpse of the Amex – especially those of us who braved the “delights” of the Goldstone Ground and Withdean Stadium.
And the venue did not disappoint, at least before the game. With padded seats, and decent-quality cask ale on sale at local pub prices, it is far more welcoming than many on the Championship circuit. On the field, however, the home side would prove a different story…
Nigel Pearson resisted the temptation to make wholesale changes, and the introduction of Danny Drinkwater (making his full City debut) for Paul Gallagher was the only change to the starting eleven.
Regular observers have noted, in the course of the season, that some of the mainstays in the team have struggled to maintain consistency during a period of three games in a week. This proved to be the case again.
With Brighton, needing victory to further their own promotion ambitions, seeming equally as lacklustre, the first half assumed the pattern seen all too frequently in City away games this season. Quality moves and goal attempts were few and far between, though David Nugent sent a header narrowly wide and Jermaine Beckford shot straight at home keeper Peter Brezovan when well-placed.
The undersoil heating at the Amex, together with the cold but dry weather, helped to maintain reasonable playing conditions. However the temperature was substantially and dramatically lifted by an incident five minutes after the resumption.
Beckford, narrowly beaten to a challenge by home defender Lewis Dunk, made minimal contact on his follow-through. However Dunk remained prostrate for several seconds, as if seriously hurt. Beckford tapped Dunk in a gesture which was ludicrously and idiotically interpreted as malicious by linesman Michael Bull.
The official reported Beckford to Woolmer, who immediately brandished a red card. Dunk, meanwhile, proved to be unscathed.
Despite the setback, City's resilience continued, with Matt Mills emerging triumphant from his duel with one-time Foxes target Craig Mackail Smith. It was not until the 67th minute that keeper Kasper Schmeichel was seriously tested, when blocking a fierce drive from Buckley. Pearson was even tempted to seek an unlikely win, making a series of attacking substitutions in pursuit of an away goal.
As the game entered the last 20 minutes still scoreless, home frustrations grew both on and off the field. A series of wild tackles brought a succession of bookings for Brighton players, and five minutes from time Woolmer restored parity of numbers, dismissing Matt Sparrow for a particularly nasty lunge at City sub Ben Marshall.
This did nothing to diminish the frenzy. A vicious two-footed assault, this time by Liam Bridcutt (laughably hailed as man of the match by the game's sponsors) put Nathan Delfouneso out of the game. For reasons only he can explain, Woolmer chose to issue only a yellow card to Bridcutt.
City, now down to nine men, nevertheless continued to push forward,. But while such ambition was commendable, it ultimately proved fatal. Home sub Vicente caught the visitors on the break and his cross was turned home by an unmarked Buckley at the far post.
During a frenetic six minutes of stoppage time, Wes Morgan, pushed into attack, was denied a very plausible penalty claim, while Matt Mills and Lloyd Dyer wasted chances of an incredible equaliser, both hesitating while clear on goal.
At the other end, another Brighton break was hailed by an injudicious challenge by Neil Danns, which earned his second yellow card of the game and reduced City to 8 men. While the ex-Palace midfielder's lapse in discipline was regrettable, he was clearly fatigued by his afternoon's efforts and few Foxes seemed inclined to decry his behaviour.
As the final whistle sounded, the travelling hordes were understandably in a less than pleasant mood, many having witnessed the THIRD monumentally inept refereeing performance in a week. City may have been beneficiaries against Swindon, but were very harshly treated in both of the subsequent games.
On this occasion, however, Pearson showed remarkable composure and dignity while discussing some of the game's (and possibly the season's) most contentious incidents. The storm clouds that were gathering around his tenure a matter of weeks ago seem to have been forcibly dispelled.
The result leaves the Foxes becalmed in 13th place, with playoff hopes now appearing merely mathematical. Any aspirations of success for this season must surely lie in an FA Cup run
City (4-4-2): Schmeichel; Peltier, Mills (c), St. Ledger, Konchesky (Morgan 59); Drinkwater, Danns, Wellens (Marshall 67), Dyer; Nugent (Delfouneso 76), Beckford. Unused subs: Logan, Gallagher.
Booked: Danns Sent off: Beckford 52, Danns 90+3
Brighton (4-3-3): Brezovan; Calderon, Greer (c), Dunk, El-Abd (Mattock 63); Sparrow, Navarro (Vokes 63), Bridcutt; Buckley, Mackail-Smith (Vicente 70), Barnes. Unused subs: Ankergren, Forster-Caskey.
Goals: Buckley 90
Booked: Greer, Calderon, Bridcutt Sent off: Sparrow 85
Attendance: 20,223 Referee: Andy Woolmer (Northamptonshire)
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
Colin Hall is a Leicester City season-ticket holder in block SK1. He can be followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Ultra_Fox.