Leicester Clinch Play-Off Place Against the Odds

Nottingham Forest 2:3 Leicester City

An injury time winner from Anthony Knockaert sealed a glorious 3-2 victory at Nottingham Forest and saw City scrape into the play-offs on goal difference….
Nigel Pearson made one change to his side with Nugent in for the injured Konchesky, with City needing win on a ground where they hadn’t succeeded in the league since 1972, while also relying on Blackpool preventing a Bolton win.
It didn’t look promising for City and their following of 2,000 as early as the 3rd minute however, when Cox was allowed two bites at the cherry with blue-shirted defenders slow to react, he prodded the ball past Schmeichel from close range to make our play-off hopes looking a little forlorn.
City responded well with Knockaert the driving force and his shot kissed the top of,  the crossbar in the 15th minute.
Nugent then tested Darlow with a well struck shot.
Meanwhile, at the Reebok, Bolton went a goal down to Blackpool giving the East Midlands sides an extra incentive.
City struck back in the 23rd minute when a James shot took a big deflection past Darlow to put City right back in the mix.
Nugent then missed out on a chance to put City ahead when he missed the target after being set up by Dyer.
City were the better side leading up to the break, as news that Bolton were two goals down circulated round the stands, and they took the lead three minutes before half-time.
Knockaert delivered a lovely cross to the far post for King to head home from close in, and as things stood at half-time incredibly City were in a play-off place.
Bolton, however, had pulled back two goals to go in at 2-2.

Forest took charge for a while after the break and levelled the score when Ward rose highest to nod home a Reid free-kick.
Things got worse for City a minute later when De Laet had to go off, replaced by Moore.
Wood then volleyed wide and goalmouth scramble, ended with a referee’s whistle, as City desperately pressed for that precious goal.
Kane came on for Dyer and then hearts were in mouths as Cox went one-on-one with Schmeichel, but lost out to the City keeper.
Knockaert then had a shot blocked before Pearson’s last change saw Marshall for Keane.
Four minutes of injury time were announced and then came the season’s defining moment.
A Schlupp ball upfield saw Knockaert and Wood suddenly outnumbering Forest defenders. Knockaert passed to Wood, who squared back to Knockaert as the keeper closed in on him, leaving the Frenchman to find an unguarded net right in front of the wildly celebrating Leicester fans.
There was no further score at Bolton, so City had miraculously leap-frogged their way into the play-offs at not only the eleventh hour, but at 11:59.
Considering the dramatic slump in form in the last few months it was incredible that they made it, but make it they did and City fans were queuing up for Watford tickets first thing Sunday morning…
Nigel Pearson commented: “It was one of those situations where we had to find a win from somewhere and with it being a local derby as well put a different dimension to it, but I thought the players coped well with the pressure.”

Forest: Darlow, Harding, Collins, Guedioura (Sharp 74), Cohen, Henderson, Reid (McGugan 62), Halford (Majewski 33), Cox, Lansbury, Ward. Unused Subs: McGugan, Tudgay, Blackstock, Ayala, Alrashidi.
Leicester: Schmeichel, De Laet (Moore 56), Morgan, King, Dyer (Kane 60), Keane (Marshall 85), James, Schlupp, Knockaert, Nugent, Wood. Unused Subs: Drinkwater, Vardy, Logan, Gallagher.

Referee: Mike Dean. Attendance: 28,646.

You can now subscribe to The FOX for the 2013-14 season online via Paypal – just press the blue button…

Eagles end Leicester’s proud record

Leicester City 1:2 Crystal Palace

Leicester City fans had an unfamiliar taste of defeat as City were out-thought and out-muscled by a useful-looking Crystal Palace outfit at the KPS on Saturday…

After an early spell of attacking from Palace, in which Zaha showed the threat of his pace, City settled down to create some chances.
Vardy, charging down the left, squared a ball for Nugent but at full stretch he could only send his effort straight at Speroni.
Knockaert also forced a save from the Palace keeper and King sent a header over the bar, but after these early inroads City struggled to make an impression on a Palace side with a rock solid defence and plenty of pace on the break.
Palace took the lead in the 23rd minute when Schmeichel claimed a Garavan corner but then dropped it after colliding with Whitbread – former-Fox Delaney firing the loose ball home through a crowded goalmouth.
Five minutes later Palace further stunned the KPS with a goal that was all too straight-forward; Bolasie’s corner nodded home by Ramage from eight yards out.
An impressive number of visiting supporters celebrated, and City’s 100% home record was already looking under grave threat.
James came on for Dyer, in response to Palace’s three striker breakaways, and City managed a few attacking moves, the best of which saw Garvan heading clear from under the bar after Nugent’s instant turn and shot.
Boos greeted the half-time whistle, but they were directed at the unimpressive officials, rather than the home team.
At least the cheerleaders from the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars performed well during the break, to warm the cockles on a chilly day.
City, looking frustrated and out of sorts,  still struggled to make a dent on Palace, under the caretaker-management of Lennie Lawrence after Dougie Freedman’s departure.
The desperation grew and when a couple of penalty shouts late on were turned down we knew it just wasn’t our day. Delaney’s ‘trip’ on Nugent was difficult to call and the ref thought Garvan had chested, rather than handled, Nugent’s header on the line.
City finally punctured the yellow wall in the second minute of injury time when King met Knochesky’s cross with a well directed header. But it was too late.
City need to bounce back from this rare disappointment, something that Nigel Pearson’s sides have been able to do in the past.

Leicester: Schmeichel, De Laet, Morgan, Whitbread, Konchesky, Knockaert (Schlupp 77), Drinkwater (Marshall 63, King, Dyer (James 32), Nugent, Vardy. Unused Subs: Logan, Waghorn, Moore, Futacs.

Palace: Speroni, Ward, Ramage, Delaney, Parr, Dikgacoi, Garvan, Jedinak, Zaha (Moxey 90), Murray (Wilbraham 89), Bolasie. Unused Subs: Blake, Easter, O’Keefe, Moritz, Price.

Referee: Andy Haines (Tyne & Wear). Attendance: 23,646.

…to subscribe to The FOX for the 2012-13 season via Paypal and receive your Summer Special, free set of City postcards, and issue no 181 by return of post, press this blue button… 

Alternatively you could print off and fill in this form…

City edge out Seagulls to stay top

Leicester City 1:0 Brighton & Hove Albion

City maintained their 100% home record and hung on to top spot with a 1-0 win over Brighton on a misty Tuesday night at the KPS…

Nigel Pearson made no changes to the side that drew at Birmingham, and after a couple of early forays by Brighton, City exerted an intense spell of pressure on the visitors, winning a series of corners.
Waghorn then fired a long range effort at Kuszczak, before City took a 10th minute lead. As both players charged towards goal Nugent fed the ball to King, whose first effort was blocked by Greer. But the ball fell kindly for the Welshman who made no mistake with his second chance.
It was a great start in front of the biggest crowd of the season but a chance to gain a comfortable lead was missed after De Laet made 60 yards progress down the right before teeing up Waghorn who blazed over the bar.
Knockaert, who had a quiet first half but was to make up for it later, then forced a good save from Kuszczak before the game lost its momentum leading up to half time.
The second half was more even with City conceding a bit of ground and Brighton being given room to get their passing game going. However City’s defence, well marshalled by Captain Morgan, weren’t unduly stretched until Whitbread was rather harshly judged to have brought down Buckley in the area, the ref looking happy to let it go before the linesman flagged.
There wasn’t much wrong with Barnes’ spot-kick, placed low to Schmeichel’s left, but the City keeper reached it to pull off a fantastic save, Morgan diving in  to thwart any effort from the rebound.
With Marshall and Vardy on for Waghorn and Nugent City pressed forward with some delightful play in the last twenty minutes, Knockaert earning repeated applause for some fantastic passing and the odd party trick.
The Seagulls did have a couple of chances however, with  Barnes heading over while unmarked and then sending a late effort straight at Schmeichel.
It was a night when City weren’t quite firing on all cylinders and they had to work very hard to beat a decent Brighton side, but they did. The mark of a side that deserves to be at the top.
Nigel Pearson told the club’s official website:  “I don’t think tonight we quite had the energy levels we’ve had for the majority of the season so far, but we managed the game better than we have others. Towards the end, when Brighton started to go a bit more direct and upped the tempo a bit, we were able to see the game through.”

Leicester: Schmeichel, De Laet (Moore 56), Morgan, Whitbread, Konchesky, Knockaert, King, Drinkwater, Dyer, Waghorn (Marshall 71), Nugent (Vardy 68). Unused Subs: Logan, James, Schlupp, Futacs.
Brighton: Kuszczak, Bruno, Greer, El-Abd, Bridge; Bridcutt, Crofts (Hammond 78), Dicker (Dobbie 60), Buckley, Mackail-Smith, Barnes. Unused Subs: Dunk, Calderon, Ankergren, Lopez, Lualua.

Referee: Neil Swarbrick (Lancashire). Attendance: 25,726.

…to subscribe to The FOX for the 2012-13 season via Paypal and receive your Summer Special, free set of City postcards, and issue no 181 by return of post, press this blue button… 

Alternatively you could print off and fill in this form…

Leicester’s Valley of Missed Chances

Charlton Athletic 2:1 Leicester City

City lost 2-1 at Charlton on Tuesday night, largely due to an inability to cash in on a bucketful of goalscoring opportunities…

Unchanged for the third game running City made a bright start against former-fox Chris Powell’s newly promoted side. Vardy and Dyer both missed chances in what was to become a theme for the night.
And Charlton, presented with a half-chance of their own in the 19th minute, gleefully took it, Wright-Phillips reacting more swiftly than City’s defence to thread a shot past Schmeichel from the edge of the area.
Charlton had their tails up now and Cort should have made it 2-0 with a header but was denied by a Schmeichel save.
With City’s defence looking shaky the home side doubled their lead in the 32nd minute. Predictably it was disgraced former-Leicester player who did the damage, getting to a Jackson throw-in ahead of his marker to finish from 12 yards.
His message to the City fans who had booed him all evening was clear: ‘Shhhh’.

City rallied a little up to the break with chances for Beckford and Vardy but they had a mountain to climb in the second half.
Nigel Pearson brought King and Nugent on for James and Beckford and they were both involved in City’s goal seven minutes into the half.
Good work from Nugent set Marshall up for a cross which King, ghosted into the box in typical fashion, fired past Hamer.
The City fans were in good voice as their team went in search of an equaliser, but despite a large number of reasonable and downright easy chances, they couldn’t find the net again. A Vardy header and a Nugent volley went begging before Knockeart was introduced for Marshall.
Dyer (several times), King (twice), Knockeart and Vardy all wasted chances with perhaps the latter being the most glaring of all four minutes into time added on as the game finally slipped away from City.

Played two, won one, lost one…  sound familiar?

Charlton: Hamer, Solly, Cort, Morrison, Wiggins, Pritchard, Stephens (Wilson 81), Hollands, Jackson (Kerker 87), Wright-Phillips (Cook 90), Kermorgant. Unused Subs: Sullivan, Taylor, Green, Smith.

Leicester: Schmeichel, De Laet, Morgan, Moore, Konchesky, Marshall (Knockaert 64), Drinkwater, James (King 46), Dyer, Beckford (Nugent 46), Vardy. Unused Subs: Danns, Logan, Waghorn, Schlupp.

Attendance: 16,658 (1,628 away). Referee: Fred Graham (Essex).

…to subscribe to The FOX for the 2012-13 season via Paypal and receive your Summer Special and free set of City postcards by return of post, press this blue button…  be quick – we are running out of Summer Specials…

Alternatively you could print off and fill in this form…

City End With a Flourish

Leicester City 4:2 Ipswich Town

City ended the 2010-11 season in style with a 4-2 win over Ipswich on Saturday, leaving their fans wondering what might have been…

It was typical end of season fare, an afternoon when applause rang around the ground time and again and not just for the four goals. Alan Birchenall, on completing his 31st charity run was given a lifetime contract by the club, now immune to the whims of just-visiting cost-cutters who didn’t understand the role he playes and his invaluable link with players past.
Richie Wellens also got a warm ovation on receipt of his Player of the Season award, as did Aleksander Tunchev when he came on for Vitor on the half hour for his first decent spell on the field in many months.

City, with one change – Van Aanholt in for Mee – had a superb first half although it could have been different had Ipswich not wasted two early chances.
A slip-up from Vitor presented Norris with a one-on-one chance with Weale, but he missed the target.
Van Aanholt and Yakubu both went close as play raced from end to end in a lively opening, and then Weale produced a fine double save to prevent Connor and then Wickham giving the visitors the lead. 
Instead, it was City who went ahead in the 26th minute, with Gallagher delivering a perfect cross from the left, met by the head of King at the far post for his 15th goal of the season.
 City were then forced into two changes with Vassell and Vitor limping out of the action to be replaced by Kamara and Tunchev.
Tunchev came close to a glorious comeback but sent an acrobatic volley just over the bar.
The re-shuffled City side did extend their lead in the  41st minute, however, when Abe centred from the left, King struck the right hand post, and the rebound went straight to Yakubu who netted the 11th goal of his loan spell.
Just before the break the home fans were celebrating again as King crossed from the right and Abe found the bottom left hand corner with a sidefooter for his first City goal.
3-0 and crusing at the break, but some familiar defensive failings came back to haunt City in the second half
as the visitors came back to 3-2 with two goals in three minutes.
In the 68th minute Bruma handled while attempting to head away a corner and Leadbitter sent his spot kick low to Weale’s right.
In the 71st minute the away corner were conga-ing in delight after a suicidal back pass from Van Aanholt and a slip from Weale allowed Connor to make it 3-2.
Happily, any thoughts of a comeback were extinguished just moments later when brilliant work from Van Aanholt down the left – exchanging one-twos with Gallagher and Yakubu –  saw him cross for King whose effort was saved by Fulop, but fell for Kamara to net from close in.
This was followed by a twenty man brawl after a poor challenge on Yakubu but only yellow cards were shown when peace was eventually restored.
Ipswich’s challenge was seen off this time and the remainder of the game was about fun in the sun for the two sets of fans with Ipswich becoming perhaps the first ever set of away fans to join in with the wave.
 

It was difficult not to get excited about next season at this stage. With a team that has often looked superb at home (not often enough away) there is clearly a solid base to be improved upon and a budget that should allow Sven Goran Eriksson to do the job. Even the new kit – unveiled in this match – has something about it that suggests ‘promotion’…
Sven was well aware of this season’s failings: “We need to build on the good stuff. Our team is good to watch with some brilliant passing and combinations but that is not good enough to get you promoted. If we did not make so many mistakes we would easily be in the play-offs. We have to do it better next season.”

Leicester: Weale, Vitor (Tunchev 30), Naughton, Van Aanholt, Bruma, King, Abe, Wellens (Oakley 77), Yakubu, Gallagher, Vassell (Kamara 27). Subs Not Used: Dyer, Moreno, Howard, Smith. 
Ipswich: Fulop, McAuley, Delaney, Leadbitter, Kennedy, Healy, Martin (Peters 74), Norris, Edwards,Scotland (Carson 64), Wickham. Subs Not Used: Lee-Barrett, Brown, Murray, Drury, Civelli

Referee: C Boyeson (East Yorks). Attendance: 24,859.

No Defence for Poor City Showing

Reading 3:1 Leicester City

City’s play off hopes all but disappeared bar the maths at the Madejski Stadium on Saturday as they were beaten 3-1 by Reading…

Sven Goran Eriksson made three changes for a game City could not afford to lose, against a team that had won seven on the trot: Bruma, Naughton and Vassell in for Mee, Vitor and Gallagher.
City enjoyed a bright opening spell with Kamara firing one effort over and Yakubu sending an effort flashing across goal after a neat breakway move.  But it was the home side who took a 19th minute lead when Long motored past Naughton and Bamba down the left before squaring a ball for Kebe to prod over the line from close in.
If that was a blow for City, worse was to come less than two minutes later.
McAnuff waltzed round Bruma before firing a shot through a crowded area beating Weale low to his right.
Even at this stage it was looking as though Reading had earned their eighth win in a row.
City continued to have the lion’s share of possession and they created plenty of half decent chances, but every shot was blocked by a determined Reading rearguard.
Wellens had the best chance but failed to get past Mills with his shot and then Bamba planted a firm far post header goalwards but saw McCarthy parry his effort to safety.
City went in at the break 2-0 down in a game they had dominated, and it should have been 3-0, Kebe’s spooning an effort over from close in just before the half-time whistle.
City continued in the same vein in the second half, running the game but unable to make it count in front of goal. Vassell volleyed a decent chance over from a Van Aanholt throw; but City looked horribly vulnerable from Reading’s speedy counter attacks. Kebe wasted two good chances and then Oakley headed clear from under the bar as City’s grip on the game hung by a thread. 
That thread finally snapped in the 67th minute when City’s back four were outstripped by another Kebe break, the ball being played back for Hunt to crash the ball past Weale and seal victory.
That was surely City’s season over.
There was one thing for the deflated visiting supporters to cheer in the 80th minute, King was given too much room 30 yards oput and lined up a low shot to the keeper’s right, but it was too little too late.
While Reading now set their sights on an automatic promotion place, City surely waved goodbye to a play-off place on a disappointing afternoon in Berkshire.
Reading: McCarthy, Mills, Harte,Griffin, Khizanishvili, McAnuff, Leigertwood, Kebe (Robson-Kanu 83), Karacan, Long, Manset (Hunt 54). Subs Not Used: Church, Federici, Tabb, Antonio, Pearce.  
Leicester: Weale, Bamba (Vitor 56), Naughton, Van Aanholt, Bruma, King, Oakley, Wellens, Kamara (Howard 71), Yakubu, Vassell (Gallagher 66). Subs Not Used: Berner, Abe, Ricardo, Dyer.

Referee: GSalisbury(Lancashire). Attendance:19,199.

Silence of the Rams III

Derby County 0:2 Leicester City

 

Sven Goran Eriksson’s side took another stride towards the play-offs on Saturday evening, with a comfortable 2-0 win over Derby at Pride Park…

There were two changes to the side for this televised local derby, with Ricardo making his debut in goal in place of Weale, and Oakley in for Abe in midfield.
Struggling Derby kept things very tight in the opening spell, allowing City possession but no real chances until Van Aarnholt’s cross was blocked by Addison, who collided with a post.
City’s dominance appeared to have borne fruit in the 22nd minute when Vassell found the top corner, but a linesman’s flag halted the celebrations.
However, six minutes later City took the lead their performance deserved thanks to a bit of magic from Yakubu.  The Rams failed to clear their lines properly and Gallagher teed up the Nigerian 12 yards out. Although Yakubu was well marked he juggled the ball twice before lashing a drive into the roof of the net for a spectacular opener. 
A minute later Gallagher went close with a long range effort after more good work from Van Aanholt down the left.
Seconds before half-time City doubled their lead with a sublime passing move that swept from one end to the other in seconds. Mee to Yakubu to Van Aanholt to Gallagher who fed King perfectly to slide the ball past the advancing Bywater and into the net.
The half time whistle signalled boos from a home crowd who had seen their team outplayed.
The Rams improved after the break, City had a bit of defending to do and Ricardo actuially touched the ball, punching clear. In the 66th minute Bamba and Mee clashed heads, requiring lengthy treatment, but happily both were able to stay on the field.
City were content to defend their two goal lead in a professional manner and Derby did not have the guile to get round them. There were few chances for the Rams, Byford heading over late on. 
The final whistle saw City fans celebrating a fine win over their neighbours, and six points from Derby this season.

A jubilant Sven commented: “I am happy for two reasons. In the first half we played good football, we moved the ball around nicely and scored two very nice goals. Second half they didn’t allow us to play, our full-backs couldn’t come out with the ball so it was more of a battle. They became much more direct and hit a lot of long balls and I think we stood up to that very well so I am very happy about that. The team is getting better and better, more and more confident. so I hope we can go on like this but you never know because every game is a battle.”

Derby: Bywater, Roberts, Addison (Ayala 87), Brayford, Barker, Savage, Davies, Green, Pringle (Bueno 81), Pearson (Cywka 46), Davies. Subs not used: D. Leacock, C. Porter, C. Doyle, S. DeeneyLeicester: Ricardo, Bamba (Bruma 84), Naughton, Mee, Van Aanholt, King, Oakley, Wellens, Yakubu (Dyer 76), Gallagher, Vassell (Waghorn  83). Subs Not Used: Berner, Moussa, Abe, Weale.

Referee: C Webster (Tyne & Wear). Attendance: 26,142.

Happy Birthday for Sven…

Leicester City 4:1 Barnsley

Sven Goran Eriksson celebrated his 63rd birthday at the Walkers with a blinding performance from his City side, a 4-1 win over Barnsley being notable for the quantity and quality of the goals…

Sven made one change to the side that won at Barnsley with Gallagher taking Dyer’s place.
The windy conditions made for a scrappy start, though City threatened on several occasions. Gallagher sent a free-kick over the bar; Yakubu almost broke through on his own before being halted by a Shackell challenge; and King sent a header wide.
City then took a 15th minute lead when Gallagher was allowed too much room to tee up a shot from 25 yards, it flew past Steele into the top left hand corner.
The lead was nearly extended soon afterwards when Steele saved a fierce Wellens effort and then Van Aarnholt sent a free-kick crashing against the crossbar.
Although Barnsley had a good spell for a while City made it 2-0 as half time approached.
Set up by a Vassell backheel King beat one defender and then shot against the legs of another. The ball came back to him and his exquisite 9 iron chip left Steele a bystander as it sailed over the Tykes’ keeper and into the net.
But Barnsley were not in the mood to roll over and die, and had the ball in Weale’s net almost instantly, though their celebrations were halted by a linesman’s flag.
Soon after that scare, some great work by Chelsea-loanee Mellis on the edge of his area saw him side-step the City defence before curling a shot beyond Weale’s reach.
Incredibly Barnsley almost equalised just before the break when Nouble broke clear and rounded Weale, but saw his low shot blocked by Naughton who made up the ground with his pace.
Half time entertainment in the form of the Indianapolis Colts Cheerleaders kept the crowd, somewhat on the sparse side, happy. Well done Birch.
The second half saw City regain control of the game. Steele did well to save a Gallagher effort but City would not be denied for long. The visitors were caught on the break and King charged forward fifty yards before planting a perfect finish low to Steele’s left.
City were looking comfortable now and Sven brought Dyer and Oakley on for Vassell and Abe. Steele had to produce a series of spectacular saves to keep out long range efforts from Gallagher and Wellens; while at the other end Weale had to be off his line sharply to deny Mellis.
Steele continued to keep City at bay, pulling off a great save from Oakley, but he was eventually beaten by a piece of magic in the 89th minute.  
Naughton, out on the right, latched onto a half clearance and fired a 30 yard rocket into the top left hand corner to seal a fine victory.
The birthday boy was content: “We didn’t play our best football in the first half but in the second half we got better and the four goals means I am very happy. All the goals were beautiful and the last one by Kyle Naughton, he has a good shot, but that was incredible.”
While the Barnsley boss Mark Robins dubbed City: “…the best side in the division”. 
As City relentlessly close in on the play-off places, it is beginning to look as though he is right… 

Leicester: Weale, Bamba (Hobbs 82), Naughton, Mee, Van Aanholt, King , Abe (Dyer 62), Wellens, Yakubu, Gallagher, Vassell (Oakley 62).  Subs Not Used: Berner, Waghorn, Howard, Ricardo.  
Barnsley: Steele, Shackell, Hassell, Hill, Trippier, Doyle, Mellis  (Noble-Lazarus 83), Arismendi  (Colace  66), Haynes, Nouble, O’Connor (Butterfield 74). Subs Not Used: Gray, Lovre, O’Brien, Preece.
Referee:K Hill (Herts). Attendance: 22,667.

City Steel the Points

Sheffield United 0:1 Leicester City

City plundered three points at Bramall Lane last night with a backs-to-the-wall display that was at times desperate, after Andy King has given them an early lead…

Sven made just one change to the side that outplayed Millwall with new loan signing Patrick van Aanholt replacing Bruno Berner at left back.
A healthy travelling contingent didn’t have long to wait to celebrate a goal when King gave City the lead after just four minutes,picking up a ball from Yakubu on the edge of the area and calmly lobbing Simonsen.
United responded positively and City found themselves pegged back for long periods, unable to get out of their own half. Montgomery was first to test Weale with a thumping drive that the keeper tipped over at full stretch. There then followed a series of corners that City couldn’t clear properly but the Blades were lacking confidence in front of goal and although they were putting City under pressure, they weren’t creating many chances. 
On the half hour there was an incident that seemed to raise the temperature a little inside the ground when Mattock fell awkwardly in front of the City fans. As the City fans showed little sympathy to the on-loan full back, it became clear that he was seriously injured. The home fans in the adjacent stand voiced their anger at the unsympathetic City contingent (perhaps knowing little of the history of Mattock’s time in Leicester) as Mattock was stretchered off.
When the game resumed the atmosphere was very different and the home side responded and upped the tempo and they were unlucky not to level matters when a curling, Williamson free-kick came back off the post with Weale beaten and then the impressive Ben Mee blocked a goalbound Lowry shot.
The second half continued in the same vein. The expected improvement from City didn’t materialise and once again the match was played mostly in the visitor’s half. Bent blazed over when he should have hit the target and there was plenty of goal mouth action with Weale by far the busier keeper.
There was an unavoidable feeling amongst the travelling support that an equaliser was just around the corner, but it never came.
Sven replaced tired legs when Dyer and Abe were replaced with Gallagher and Oakley but the pattern of the game didn’t alter with City restricted to breakaway efforts and United having one last go at City as the minutes ticked away. Parrino thought he had equalised for Blades when his header beat Weale but Oakley was on the line to head clear and right at the death Ertl was the unlucky player as Weale produced a another superb fingertip save to tip over his snap shot following a corner.
Ironically it was City that had the last chance of the game when, late substitute, Waghorn crossed for Vassell who was unable to steer the ball in to a vacant goal and managed to lift his shot over. The final whistle brought huge relief to the City faithful who, in truth, cannot have enjoyed the performance they witnessed. City enjoyed some luck but they won’t care. What will be of more concern is the overall display and a complete failure to get the passing game going with passes continually going astray and possession given away in what was a poor performance. On the plus side, Ben Mee and Sol Bamba put in massive performances for City and Weale was faultless behind them.
Bramall Lane hasn’t always been a happy hunting ground for City and a long list of injustice, bad breaks and poor refereeing decisions was wiped off tonight as City had all of the luck going for a change. After all, at the end of the season when we are totting up the points, it isn’t ‘how’ that matters it is ‘how many’.

Sheff Utd: Simonsen, Ertl, Mattock (Kozluk 33), Lowry, Parrino, Doyle (Yeates 70), Williamson, Montgomery, Bent (Bogdanovic 75), Cresswell, Evans. Subs Not Used: Quinn, Ward, Lowton, Long.
Leicester: Weale, Bamba, Naughton, Mee, Van Aanholt, King, Dyer (Gallagher 63), Abe (Oakley 70), Wellens, Yakubu (Waghorn 87), Vassell. Subs Not Used: Berner, Logan, Hobbs, Howard.

Referee: David Webb (Lancashire). Attendance: 20,464.

City’s Boxing Day Fightback

Leicester City 2:2 Leeds United

After a dull start City and Leeds served up a second half feast of football for a large Boxing Day crowd at Filbert Way…

Sven Goran Eriksson made two changes to his side with Hobbs and Howard in for Vitor and Dyer.
City were on top in the opening stages with some early probing that almost set up King and Howard with chances.  A series of City free-kicks and corners were dealt with by the Leeds defence before the visitors took a 19th minute lead with their first attack.
Kilkenny’s cross from the right found Gradel in the goalmouth and, as Naughton slipped at the vital moment, the former-City man was left with a free header past Kirkland fron close range.
City were knocked back by this and the rest of the half was almost without incident. The two exceptions being a great run downt eh left by Cunningham and a good move involving Vassell and Howard which saw the latter blazing an effort well over.
Things got worse before they got better for City, with Simon Grayson’s side going 2-0 up ten minutes into the second half. A corner was cleared as far as Snodgrass out on the left and he blasted a half volley past Kirkland from an acute angle to get the 3,000 + in the away corner bouncing.
Things looked bleak for City at this stage, but a double substitution – Bednar and Dyer on for Abe and Howard – brought an improvement and they battled their way back into the game.
In the 71st minute Vassell was sent clear by Gallagher and looked set to score when he was upended by Schmeichel. It was an obvious red card, the Leeds’ keeper being the last man and denying Vassell a goal, but Referee Bates played Father Christmas and only produced a yellow.
Schmeichel, who was laughing to himself as he turned to the Kop to take his place, then had to pick the ball out of the net after another successful Gallagher spot-kick. 
Five minutes later he was beaten again. King, 25 yards out, delivered a perfect dipping shot over the keeper and under the bar for a fantastic equaliser.
In a stormy closing spell Kirkland saved from a scramble in the area, while at the other end Bednar was mugged in the penalty area for an obvious penalty that wasn’t given. A brawl then broke out as both sides literally fought for a late winner. Honours were even at the final whistle, with a large crowd being treated to an entertaining and hard fought encounter.

Sven was happy with the point: “We didn’t start very well and, when we cannot pass the ball well, we are not that good. Leeds were aggressive and did not allow us to play our normal game. The pitch was difficult but that is my fault because we have been training on it every day because the training ground is frozen. But we showed that, even if pitches are not perfect, we can work and get back into games.”

Leicester: Kirkland, Davies, Hobbs, Naughton, King, Abe (Dyer 64), Wellens, Cunningham, Gallagher, Vassell, Howard (Bednar 65). Subs Not Used: Oakley, Weale, Moussa, Morrison, Waghorn.
Leeds: Schmeichel, Connolly, O’Brien, Collins, McCartney, Kilkenny (Faye 89), Johnson, Howson (Paynter 85), Gradel, Snodgrass, Becchio (McCormack 85). Subs Not Used: Sam, Bruce, Higgs, Bromby.

Referee: A Bates (Staffs). Attendance: 30,919.