Millwall 1 City 0
Report by Colin Hall
A 67th minute strike by Millwall's Chris Taylor proved sufficient to condemn Leicester City to another away defeat in a largely forgettable encounter at the Den.
Despite the disappointing performance against Barnsley the previous week, Nigel Pearson made only one change to the starting line-up, with Martyn Waghorn, unavailable following an appendix operation, replaced by Jamie Vardy in attack.
City kicked off in surprisingly mild and dry weather, but heavy rain during the week had left its mark on the pitch, and suspicions that the uneven surface would act as an advantage to the home side proved to be well-founded.
Every Millwall side I've seen against City during the past 30 plus years has played in a similar fashion – to niggle, spoil, hassle and bully. This was no exception, as home manager Kenny Jackett employed the same tactics that had proved so effective on City's previous two visits to this venue, and were to do so again.
However the Foxes made a strong start, forcing a series of early corners which were entrusted to Anthony Knockaert in Waghorn's absence. Unfortunately, the French winger was unable to make the most of them, and this set the tone for the afternoon.
Vardy caused some early problems for the home defence, creating an early chance for Andy King, but the midfielder's shot was blocked and his subsequent influence on the game was severely restricted.
At the other end, former City striker Dany N'Guesan wasted a good chance to put the London team ahead, heading a free-kick over from close range. Home midfielder Liam Trotter also caused alarm among the City defence, but was denied by a fine save by Kasper Schmeichel.
With the midfield and wingers largely ineffective – an all-too-frequent occurrence on City's travels during 2012 – City were often reduced to launching long balls in the direction of Vardy and David Nugent. These largely failed to trouble the home rearguard, for whom Danny Shittu was an formidable physical barrier. However Nugent almost gave City the lead just before the interval, only to see his shot rebound from the legs of Millwall keeper David Forde.
The grim and occasionally fractious stalemate continued well into the second-half, although as City were gradually forced deeper, fears of a Millwall breakthrough increased.
And midway through the half, those fears were realised as the hosts constructed the best move of the game. Trotter exchanged passes with substitute Andy Keogh and strolled past several static defenders to cross for Taylor to beat Schmeichel from three yards.
Pearson made a series of changes in a forlorn attempt to regain the initiative, replacing King, Knockaert and Lloyd Dyer with Matty James, Marko Futacs and Ben Marshall. However none of the substitutes were able to make a meaningful impact on the game, although a long-range effort by Marshall, comfortably saved by Forde, was as close as City came to an equaliser.
The fighting spirit that had been so much in evidence in the closing minutes against Barnsley was notorious by its absence, and many among the visiting contingent had resigned themselves to defeat well before the end.
Cardiff's shock defeat by bottom club Peterborough and Palace's surrender of a two-goal lead at Birmingham meant that the ground lost on the top two was relatively limited. But the psychological impact of this defeat is likely to linger for some time.
As in previous seasons, City are widely viewed as a soft touch on their travels, and unless Pearson can soon correct these persistent frailties, another failed season awaits us.
Millwall (4-4-2): Forde; A. Smith, Shittu (c), Beevers, Lowry; Henry, Trotter, Abdou, Malone (C. Taylor 46); Wood (Batt 79), N’Guessan (Keogh 66). Unused subs: M. Taylor, Wright, Feeney, J. Smith.
Goal: C. Taylor 67
Booked: Abdou, Keogh
City (4-4-2): Schmeichel; De Laet, Morgan (c), Whitbread, Konchesky; Knockaert (Marshall 64), King (James 70), Drinkwater, Dyer (Futacs 70); Nugent, Vardy. Unused subs: Logan, Schlupp, Moore, Lingard.
Booked: Nugent, Knockaert, Futacs
Referee: Simon Hooper Attendance: 10,189
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