Leicester dumped out of cup by Terriers

Leicester City 1:2 Huddersfield Town

The gulf in priorities between club and fans widened at the KPS on Tuesday night as a below strength City missed out on a home 5th round tie, beaten 2-1 by Huddersfield.However, not all the blame could be heaped on the ‘stand-ins’, as the usual highly reliable Schmeichel and Morgan had proved by the fifth minute. Morgan bundled Lee over with a clumsy challenge 20 yards out and then allowed Clayton’s curling effort past his section of the wall before it beat a slightly mis-positioned Schmeichel to find the net.
City replied instantly when Knockaert’s corner from the right was met by De Laet’s head, and blocked to Keane whose side-footed found a route through the crowd and past Bennett for his first senior goal.
After this early flurry of activity the game settled into a stalemate for the remainder of the first half and City’s threat was reduced to a couple off-target efforts from Gallagher.
It was the visitors who were creating the chances towards the break with a Wallace 25 yarder being well saved by  Schmeichel and Morgan blocking a shot from the lively Scannell.

The second half was an increasingly frustrating experience for a sparse and shivering crowd, with City unable to get any sort of passing game going. Waghorn and Vardy replaced an impotent forward line of Nugent and Futacs, but fared no better.
Then the Terriers took a 75 minute lead when Scannell’s run in from the left took him past Koncheksy and Keane near the touchline, before he beat the advancing Schmeichel from an acute angle.
City had just one decent chance to force extra time in the remaining quarter of an hour as Vardy directed his header from a Gallagher cross inches wide of the left hand upright.

So City were dumped out of the competition, having been handed a tie they surely could have won at the first attempt using the first team.

Leicester: Schmeichel, De Laet, Keane, Morgan, Konchesky, James, Gallagher, Wellens (Dyer 81), Knockaert, Futacs (Waghorn 74), Nugent (Vardy 74). Subs Not Used: Logan, Drinkwater, King, Moore.
Huddersfield: Bennett, Dixon, Wallace, Gerrard, Woods, Sinnott (Norwood 65), Arfield, Atkinson (Gobern 83), Clayton, Scannell, Lee (Vaughan 70). Subs Not Used: Colgan, Clarke, Hunt, Crooks.

Referee: James Adcock (Nottingham). Attendance: 14,517. 

Below strength Leicester scrape into fifth round draw

Huddersfield Town 1:1 Leicester City

Substitute Chris Wood’s late equaliser kept City in the FA Cup despite a below par performance against Huddersfield on Saturday…

City fans had high hopes of a win at the John Smith’s Stadium, with this season’s league game aggregate score being 8-1, and travelled in the usual big numbers for the FA Cup. But there is a disparity in City fans’ traditional love of the competition and where it currently stands as a priority for the club.  Nigel Pearson made five changes to his side with Wellens, King, Waghorn, Vardy and Dyer in for Knockaert, James, Drinkwater, Nugent and Wood and an unfamiliar line-up led to a disjointed first half performance.
Manager-less Huddersfield who parted company with Simon Grayson on Thursday, looked determined not to lose to City a third time and had the best of a terribly scrappy first half.
Clarke should have put the Terriers ahead but sent his header over the bar from a Norwood corner with the goal at his mercy; while City only had a single chance in the whole half when Waghorn turned his marker and fired an effort narrowly wide.
The second half brought a slight improvement, especially when Pearson introduced Nugent and Wood with half an hour remaining. Roared on by 4,000 visiting fans City had their best spell of the game and Wood forced the previously unemployed Smithies into a save.
But Town responded and after Novak had headed one effort at Schmeichel, they took a 74th minute lead. Hunt charged into the area and for the second game running we saw a typical forward’s challenge, Dyer being tempted into a challenge that sent Hunt sprawling. Novak calmly sent Schmeichel the wrong way from the spot and things were not looking good for City.
Vaughan saw his header cleared off the line by Drinkwater as City clung on by a thread, but a minute later they had earned a replay.
Marshall fed Da Laet out on the right and his low cross was left by Dyer, falling nicely for Wood to side-foot home from 12 yards.
City lived to fight another day, though another game on the fixture list won’t be particularly welcome to a club with an eye on the main prize.

 Huddersfield: Smithies, Hunt, Clarke, Gerrard, Woods, Clayton, Norwood, Sinnott (Scannell 66), Arfield, Novak (Lee 81), Vaughan. Subs Not Used: Bennett, Wallace, Holmes, Dixon, Crooks.
Leicester: Schmeichel, De Laet, Morgan, Keane, Konchesky, Marshall, King, Wellens (Drinkwater 69), Dyer, Waghorn (Wood 60), Vardy (Nugent 60). Subs Not Used: Logan, Gallagher, Moore, Futacs.

Referee: Anthony Taylor (Cheshire). Attendance: 11,945. 

 

City Deliver Knockaert Blows to Huddersfield

Huddersfield Town 0:2 Leicester City

City extended their winning run to four games and moved up to second place with a 2-0 victory over Huddersfield at the John Smiths Stadium on Tuesday night, Anthony Knockaert scoring two very special goals…

Nigel Pearson brought King and Dyer into his side for this trip to a windy West Yorkshire and this line-up produced a fantastic performance.

Knockaert was buzzing right from the start and set up Nugent, whose shot went wide, and Vardy who forced Terriers’ keeper Smithies into a scrambled save.
Knockaert then stunned the John Smiths Stadium on the half hour sending a beautifully struck 35 yarder whistling past Smithies.
A minute later Novak fluffed a chance of an instant equaliser at the far post as City momentarily switched off. It was a rare off moment for an otherwise solid defence.
Just before the break the swirling wind deceived the Town defence and let Vardy in to set up King but his shot was deflected wide and City had to be content with a one goal lead at half time.

City continued their good work in the second half and Knockaert had a shot blocked by Gerrard before Vardy slammed the rebound wide.
But Knockaert only had to wait until the hour to score his second, one of the most audacious goals in the club’s history.
A Konchesky cross from the left was a yard behind Knockaert, who was 8 yards out. He flicked his heel up, sending a ‘blind volley’ into the roof of the net to put City 2-0 up and leave City fans to decide in which order his goals should be 1 and 2 in Goal of the Season.
The Terriers were beaten and although Nugent had a couple of chances he couldn’t make it 3-0.
It was a fantastic night for Knockaert, City and their followers and Nigel Pearson’s side moved up to second place, the boss being keen to share the credit around: “The players controlled the game very well and made a lot of good decisions, because when you play in these conditions it’s a potential nightmare for defenders. I thought ours did exceptionally well and the midfield controlled the game utterly. It was a good all-round performance.”

Huddersfield: Smithies, Hunt, Clarke, Gerrard, Dixon (Woods 64), Clayton (Lee 63), Southern, Norwood (Arfield 64), Ward, Novak, Scannell. Unused Subs: Bennett, Wallace, Robinson, Spencer.

Leicester: Schmeichel, Moore, Morgan, St Ledger, Konchesky, Knockaert (Marshall 90+1), King, Drinkwater, Dyer (Schlupp 77), Nugent, Vardy (Waghorn 80). Unused Subs: Whitbread, Logan, James, Futacs.

 

Referee: Phil Gibbs (West Midlands). Attendance: 13,821.

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Leicester City Exodus…

Several of Leicester’s bigger names appear to be heading for the exit door as Nigel Pearson rebuilds his squad…

According to Nevzat Sakar, the vice-president of Trabzonspor, an agreement on an £800,000 move for City’s Sol Bamba is nearing completion. The popular Ivory Coast international signed from Hibs just 18 months ago.

Last year’s big money signing Matt Mills is also on his way out of the club, but a move to Celtic has been held up with City wanting to recoup at least £3M of the £5M they paid Reading for him last summer.

Another defender, Lee Peltier, appears to have Leeds and Huddersfield vying for his signature just a year after he left the Terriers to come to the King Power Stadium…

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Lee Clark is hot favourite for City Job

It is reported that Lee Clark has met with the Leicester City owners and is now their preferred choice as new boss…

The 39 year old Hudderfield Town manager has been among the front-runners for the King Power Stadium hot-seat for a while and now it seems he heads a list including Roy Keane, Billy Davies and Nigel Pearson.
The Terriers currently in second place in League One and on a run of 41 unbeaten games, and would want £300,000 compensation for former Newcastle United midfielder Clark.
It is thought he has been offered a £10M war chest to spend in the January transfer window to persue the owners’ ambition of promotion to the Premier League this season.

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