City Hit Ipswich for Six

Leicester City 6:0 Ipswich Town

A rampant City recorded their biggest winning margin since 1982 over a poor Ipswich side at the King Power Stadium on Saturday afternoon…

City hit their stride straight away against Mick McCarthy’s fragile looking side and they were ahead by the 7th minute. Dyer’s sprint down the left ended with him being brought down by Town keeper Henderson and Nugent confidently planted the spot-kick home.
It was all City, and ten minutes later Nugent doubled the lead. Waghorn had cut in from the right and his curling left-footed effort was saved by Henderson but fell perfectly into Nugent’s path and he didn’t have to break stride to chest it into an empty net.
By the 27th minute it was already beginning to look like a damage limitation exercise for the visitors as Dyer hared down the left again, and outstripped the Ipswich defence before beating Henderson with a low shot.
At this point Nugent, still suffering the effects of a neck injury from last week, was replaced by Vardy.
This didn’t stop the flow of goals, however. Just before the break the Town defence again failed to cope with a Dyer run down the left and he squared for an unmarked Knockaert to sidefoot home from 12 yards.

The second half saw Waghorn, desperate for a goal, head a Dyer cross against the post, but he didn’t have long to wait.
In the 53rd minute a clever through ball from King teed up Waghorn for a curling effort beyond Henderson’s reach. Every outfield player joined Waghorn’s celebrations in the back of the net for a hugely deserved goal.
City enjoyed the lion’s share of possession for the rest of the game, and Vardy was denied by a good Henderson block.
But City broke the scoring record since the move from Filbert Street in the 82nd minute.
Dyer again was the creator, this time running through the middle before finding substitute Futacs who slotted home through a crowded area.
It was City’s highest winning margin since a 6-0 win over Carlisle in 1982, and put Nigel Pearson’s side firmly back on track after four games without a win…

Leicester: Schmeichel, De Laet, Morgan, Whitbread, Schlupp, Knockaert (Marshall 64), King, Drinkwater, Dyer, Nugent (Vardy 30), Waghorn (Futacs 74). Unused Subs: Logan, James, Moore, Lingard.

Ipswich: Henderson, Orr, Chambers, Higginbotham, Cresswell, Edwards, N’Daw (Hyam 58), Reo-Coker, Martin, Campbell (Chopra 78), Murphy (Emmanuel-Thomas 58). Unused Subs: Lee-Barrett, Hewitt, Smith, Bilel.

 

Referee: Keith Stroud (Hampshire). Attendance: 20,779 (990 away)

 

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City Gather Points at the Riverside

Middlesbrough 1:2 Leicester City

City came from behind to claim a late victory against Middlesbrough at the Riverside on Saturday…

Nigel Pearson sent out an unchanged side against Boro, who had a 100% record at home this season.  City started brightly with Vardy having an effort cleared by Woodgate and Bikey then had to deflect a Nugent shot over the bar.
At the other end Bailey went close with a shot across goal.
City had to make a change in the 28th minute when De Laet limped off for Moore, and then Nugent missed the best chance of the half, sending Konchesy’s cut-back wide.
Just before the break a great challenge from Morgan halted Friend’s mazy run into the box.
If City could be satisfied with their fist half performance the away jinx struck again just five minutes after the break when Bailey had too much time and space to line up a 30 yard rocket.
Things nearly got worse when Jutkiewicz slid in to hit the post a couple of minutes later, before Nigel Pearson shuffled his pack and brought on King and Dyer for James and Marshall.
This soon brought it’s reward, as City hit back with a 62nd minute equaliser. A Nugent shot was blocked and Vardy pounced on the rebound to level the game.
City were on top now and Boro keeper pulled off two fantastic saves to deny King and St Ledger.
Ledesma then hit a shot straight at Schmeichel when well placed in a rare home attack.
It was City who found that something extra in the tank in the 89th minute when Knockaert sent Dyer in and the winger’s shot took a deflection that carried it over Steele and into the net, much to the delight of 1,000 travelling supporters.
City’s first points on the road move them up to fifth place, just a point behind leaders Brighton, City’s strongest start going into October since the 2002-03 promotion season…

Middlesbrough: Steele, Hoyte, Woodgate (Hines 37), Bikey, Friend, McEachran, Leadbitter, Thomson (Ledesma 66), Bailey, Zemmama (Williams 63), Jutkiewicz. Unused Subs: Leutwiler, Arca, Smallwood, Haroun.

Leicester: Schmeichel, De Laet (Moore 28), Morgan, St Ledger, Konchesky, James (King 56), Drinkwater, Vardy, Knockaert, Marshall (Dyer 61), Nugent. Unused Subs: Logan, Whitbread, Waghorn, Futacs.

 

Referee: Andy Madley (West Yorkshire). Attendance: 15,679.

 

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City Concentrating on the Cup

Bristol City 3:2 Leicester City

Any hopes of success for Leicester City this season now rely on a tough away Cup tie at Chelsea, after defeat at Ashton Gate all but extinguished their play-off hopes…
With Nugent passing a late fitness test, Kennedy in for the suspended Konchesky was Nigel Pearson’s only change for this trip to the south west.
Leicester couldn’t make much impression on a patched-up Bristol side in a largely uneventful first half.
Pitman forced a good save from Schmeichel after a quarter of an hour; while at the other end  James was lucky not escape action from the ref when he collided with Beckford at a vital moment.
And that was about it, until the game burst into life at the end of the first half.
In the 42nd minute Dyer combined with Nugent before using his pace to go clear of his markers and blast a shot past James.
But sadly for City this didn’t give them a half time lead. In time-added-on Cisse got on the end of a Stead pass and steered the ball beyond Schmeichel.
It got worse in the second half, after Nugent missed a good chance Pitman then fired the hosts into a 54th minute lead from inside the area.  
Nigel Pearson introduced Drinkwater and Schlupp to the game as City pressed forward in search of an equaliser.
A Morgan effort was blocked by James and Nugent blazed over, before Danns eventually managed to bundle home a 77th minute equaliser after good work from Drinkwater.
City looked the more likely winners after all that pressure, but it was the home side who snatched all three points just two minutes later.
A Pitman shot was deflected onto the post and Stead was in the right place at the right time to net the rebound and win the game for the Robins.

Meanwhile, at St Andrews, Chelsea beat Birmingham to set up a stiff quarter-final test for City…

Bristol City: James, Carey, Fontaine, McManus, McAllister, Foster, Cisse, Pearson, Bryan (Adomah 69), Pitman (Kilkenny 84), Stead (Wood 81). Unused Subs: Bolasie, Gerken.
Leicester: Schmeichel, Peltier, Morgan, St Ledger, Kennedy, Marshall (Drinkwater 60), Danns (Gallagher 87), Wellens, Dyer, Nugent, Beckford (Schlupp 60). Unused Subs: Bamba, Howard.
Referee: M Haywood (West Yorkshire). Attendance: 12,033.  

City Stumble at Home to Tykes

Leicester City 1:2 Barnsley

Barnsley enjoyed a rare victory while Nigel Pearson was left reflecting on the size of his rebuilding job after City put in an abject performance to lose Saturday’s game at the King Power Stadium…

On a freezing cold afternoon City, with Wellens and Dyer restored to the starting line-up, enjoyed a reasonable start to the game and should have gone a goal ahead after ten minutes when a low Gallagher free-kick was brilliantly saved by Tykes’ keeper Steele who saw it late.
But it was the visitors who took the lead two minutes later. A break upfield led to a simple passing move with Taz Ve and Drinkwater combining to set up a slackly marked Gray who prodded hom,e from close in.
City recovered quickly from this setback with a direct move leading to an equaliser three minutes later. Mills sixty yard long ball out of defence saw Dyer chesting it down on the edge of the area before directing a shot past Steele despite the close attention of two defenders.
City, however, failed to kick on from there. Too many passes went astray on an increasingly frustrating afternoon, which got worse when Barnsley retook the lead ten minutes before the break. 
Again Vaz Te and Drinkwater combined down the left to tee up Gray, this time a header beating Schmeichel from close in with the City defence playing statues again.
The second half did not bring about an improvement. Danns fired a shot over, as did Beckford when he came on as sub. Wellens diverted a Tunchev shot onto the crossbar with his head, which is the closest City came to rescuing a point, and later found the side-netting from an acute angle.
But Barnsley should have increased their lead, firstly when Done’s low shot was well saved by Schmeichel, and again when Vaz Te charged forward late on. Having done the hard part in slicing through Tunchev and Mills like a hot knife through butter, he then tried a bit of showboating, giving Schmeichel the chance to deny him with a fine block.
So 2-1 it remained, though the manner of this defeat was more worrying than the scoreline. City were, quite simply, awful.
Nigel Pearson’s after match comments included the comment that there were “delusions of grandeur” at th eclub. Whether this was referring to players, owners, supporters or all of the above wasn’t made clear, but indicated that the problems run deeper than simply a poor run of form.
Pearson has two weeks to bring in some desperately-needed fresh options before the transfer window shuts.

Leicester: Schmeichel, Peltier, Mills, Tunchev, Konchesky, Danns, Wellens, King, Gallagher (Beckford 73), Nugent, Dyer. Unused Subs: St Ledger, Weale, Abe, Kennedy.
Barnsley: Steele, Hassell, Foster, McNulty, McEveley, Drinkwater, Addison (Davies 67), Perkins, Vaz Te (Wiseman 90), Gray, Dagnall (Done 61). Unused Subs: Preece, Edwards.
Referee: D Whitestone (Northants). Attendance: 22,116.

Super City Put Lambs to the Slaughter

Leicester City 4:0 Derby County

City’s best performance of the season to date saw them sweep neighbour’s Derby aside with a 4-0 victory at Filbert Way on Saturday evening… 

Sven Goran Eriksson made three changes to the side who drew at Middlesbrough on Wednesday, with Danns, Nugent and Fernenades all returning to the starting XI.
This side immediately blended together well and forced their loftily-placed opponents on the back foot.
Vassell threatened to convert a King cross; King sent an effort narrowly wide and then Konchesky forced Fielding into a save with a twenty yearder.
City then took a 21st minute lead with a superb passing move that started on their own 18 yard line; Abe finding Vassell who flicked on to Fernandes who provided a superb through ball for Nugent to charge through and convincingly beat Fielding, before rushing off to celebrate in front of a sparsely populated visitor’s corner. 
City almost doubled their lead in the 37th minute when a well delivered Danns corner from the left was met with a solid header from Bamba, but Roberts was well placed to head clear from under th e bar.
The Rams then had a rare chance when Davies sent a cross from the right flashing across the goalmouth, but no one was on hand to convert the chance.
City had the ball in the net soon after that after a powerful run from Vassell put King in on the right and his low cross was bundled in by Nugent at the far post, but the celebrations were cut short by a linesman’s flag for handball.
But City were soon celebrating again… good work from Abe won the ball for Fernandes to feed Danns on the right. His fierce shot struck the left hand post but the rebound fell for Vassell who crashed the ball home from six yards.
The second half saw City sitting back a bit, content with a two goal cushion, but their back line (unbeaten for four and a half games now) restricted Derby to shooting from range and Schmeichel saved comfortably from Ward and Bryson.
With City looking untroubled Sven felt able to give some players a rest and made three substitutions: Nugent, Danns and Vassell all coming off to great acclaim, replaced by Schlupp, Dyer and Howard.
Former Ram Howard looked especially keen to kick-start the game back into life and had the Kop roaring for another goal. It soon came when a corner, won by Howard, was nodded down by Mills for Schlupp who reacted swiftly to turn and fire it past Fielding to put City 3-0 up with two minutes left.
One minute into the five added on the subs struck again, Howard nodding a long ball down into the path of Dyer who found the net through Fielding’s legs.
The away end emptied, while the home fans celebrated wildly, perhaps sensing that when the Championship resumes after the international break there will be a serious new contender in the promotion race.
Sven was delighted: “I thought it was a great result, and with a clean sheet again. I thought we were excellent and performed extremely well against a good side. David Nugent did very well on his return. He has been away for a month and today scored a goal and might have had more. He and Vassell were both very good, in offence and defence. The first half was one of the best we’ve had this season, along with our first half against Forest, and I hope we can go on like this.”

Leicester: Schmeichel, Konchesky, Mills, Bamba, Peltier, King, Danns (Dyer 78), Abe, Fernandes, Nugent (Schlupp 70), Vassell (Howard 83). Subs: Weale, Paintsil.  
Derby: Fielding, Shackell, Roberts, Brayford, O’Brien, Davies, Bryson, Hendrick, Davies (Croft 72), Ward (Doyle 89), Robinson. Subs: Kilbane, Legzdins, Anderson.

 Referee: H Webb (South Yorks). Attendance: 22,496.

 

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City Shaken But Not Stirred

Bury 2:4 Leicester City

City’s passage into the third round of the League Cup didn’t always run smooth, but in the end they had enough to beat a spirited Bury side 4-2 at Gigg Lane on Tuesday night…

In contrast to last week when skipper Matt Mills was dropped, this time round he was the only player to keep his place with Sven Goran Eriksson making ten changes to the side that drew at Forest.
Just as in the last round at Rotherham the home side enjoyed a good early spell, but it was City who took a 20th minute lead when Schlupp netted his fourth goal in this comptition. Turning his marker the youngster showed some composure to delay his shot for a second as a couple of defenders charged back, before beating Belford from just inside the area.
City missed several opportunities to go further ahead, with Moussa, Abe and Schlupp all guilty and then the home side levelled the scoreline five minutes before the break, Jones pouncing on a loose ball to beat Weale from the edge of the area.

Things got worse for City eight minutes into the second half when Bury took the lead. Lowe curling a free-kick over the wall and into the top right hand corner to loud acclaim from the home fans. 
This, along with the introduction of King, stung City into action and Abe went close with one effort before Gallagher drilled a low free-kick home for a 70th minute equaliser.

Seven minutes later City regained the lead with a bit of magic from Dyer who cut inside from the right and clipped a superb curler beyond Belford’s reach.
City extended their lead futher in the 3rd minute of time added on when substitute Danns was sent through by Fernandes to beat Belford with a cool finish.
City hadn’t always looked convincing against League One opposition, but in the end they made it with a bit to spare rewarding their following of over 1,000 fans.

Bury: Belford, Picken (McCarthy 86), Sodje, Skarz, Sweeney, Worrall, Mozika, Jones, John-Lewis, Lowe, Oyenuga. Subs Not Used: Cregg, Branagan, Haworth, Rothwell, Harrop.  
Leicester: Weale, Mills, St Ledger, Ball, Peltier, Dyer, Oakley, Moussa (King 63), Abe, Schlupp (Danns 84), Gallagher (Fernandes 89). Subs Not Used: Paintsil, Konchesky, Wellens, Smith.
Referee: A Haines (Tyne & Wear). Attendance: 3,779.

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Brave City Bow Out

Manchester City 4:2 Leicester City

Leicester put in a spirited performance in their FA Cup Third Round replay at the City of Manchester Stadium on Tuesday night, but clinical finishing from Manchester City ensured a 4-2 win for the Premier League side…

Sven Goran Eriksson made one change to his side, with Vassell injured and Yakubu ineligible Howard was drafted in to lead the line.
6,000 travelled up from Leicester for the game, especially impressive given that it wa sbroadcast live on ESPN, and they almost had something to cheer about when an early King effort was deflected narrowly over the bar. Bamba headed straight at Hart from the resulting corner.
The home side should have gone a goal up when Johnson broke clear on Weale but the City keeper blocked out the England player’s attempt. But Man City didn’t have long to wait  for a goal. After a quarter of an hour the remarkable Tevez wriggled his way through the Leicester defence like an eel before lashing a shot into the top left hand corner.
But Leicester were undaunted and pushed forward, finding an equaliser just four minutes later. Dyer was tripped in the area and referee Mark Halsey pointed to the spot after a quick glance at his linesman.
Gallagher opted for power rather than placment, making the net bulge and giving Hart no chance.
After a good spell for Leicester, which saw a few half chances go off target, Gallagher limped out of the action on the half hour, replaced by Moussa. 
If Leicester were hoping to make half time on level terms the roof collapsed eight minutes before the break.
City regained their lead when Weale saved a Silva shot, but Vieira was in the right place for an easy tap in; and then, less than a minute later, Silva sent Johnson through and this time he made no mistake, beating Weale with a precise shot.
Tevez almost finished City off just before the break but Weale did well to smother his effort.
Oakley replaced Wellens for the second half and for a while it was difficult to see a glimmer of hope for Leicester in this contest, especially when Hobbs brought Tevez down in the box in the 57th minute. But Weale saved the Argetinian’s straight down the middle spot kick and the visitors gained a new momentum. 
Waghorn replaced Howard in the 68th minute, but sent a free-kick straight into the wall when well placed.
Dyer and Vieira were then both booked after they clashed in the penalty area.
In the 82nd minute, with the host apparently in control, the game suddenly became interesting again as Dyer outpaced Lescott to reach a ball from Abe, before planting it past Hart.   
City tried to press forward, but it wasn’t easy against a side costing £160M, and they were caught on the break in the 89th minute. Kolarov was given a little too much room to manouevre on the edge of the area and picked his spot low to Weale’s left. It was all over this time and Man City had dumped us out of the FA Cup for the eighth time… 
Sven was pleased with his side and optimistic for the future: “We have played one of the best teams in Europe, and in the first game we were as good as they were. They were better than us today. I am happy at Leicester. We are not Manchester City, but it is a clear project to try to get into the Premier League and then we will try to beat them again. It is very good to be at a club where the owners are very good and you can feel around the ground, the training ground and the city that everyone believes we will go up to the Premier League. And we will.”

Man City: Hart, Kompany, Zabaleta, Kolarov, Lescott, Toure (Jo 78), Milner, Vieira, Johnson, Silva (Barry 64), Tevez. Subs Not Used: Toure, de Jong, Given, Nimely, Boyata.
Leicester: Weale, Berner, Bamba, Hobbs, Naughton, King, Dyer, Abe, Wellens (Oakley 46), Gallagher (Moussa 30), Howard (Waghorn 68). Subs Not Used: Logan, N’Guessan, Moreno, Neilson.

Referee: M R Halsey (Lancashire). Attendance: 27,755.

Powell and Stowell Get Back to Basics

Leicester City 3:1 Scunthorpe United

With heir to the throne Sven Goran Eriksson watchig on, Chris Powell and Mike Stowell proved that getting on in the Champsionship is not rocket science, as they beat Scunthorpe 3-1 at Filbert Way on Saturday…

Powell and Stowell made three changes to the side that lost at Norwich with Vitor, Berner and Gallagher in for Lamey, Kennedy and Oakley.
There was a scrappy start to the game but City got a 10th minute goal vital to settling those nerves. Gallagher sent Waghorn through and he negotiated his way round a Scunthorpe challenge before clipping a left foot shot round the keeper and just inside the left hand post.
This was just the start City needed and it lifted a small crowd that looked some 3,000 under the official attendance.
United, led by for City player Ian Baraclough, rarely threatened City, a shot on the turn from Forte straight at Ikeme being their best effort.
Dyer had a good shot on the run saved by Murphy and Howard sent a header narrowly wide with City winning the midfield battle. Howard should have made it 2-0 near the break when a poor backpass fell for him but he somehow prodded the ball wide from close in.
City should have extended their lead early in the second half when an error in the Iron defence presented Dyer with the ball in front of goal, but he elected to square to Waghorn and over-hit his pass.
Dyer made amends a couple of minutes later, after bursting into the penalty area his shot was blocked, but he swiftly regained his feet to fire in another shot past Murphy and into the net. 
This should have signalled a comfortable afternoon for City, but it seemed to galvanise United who were allowed to press forward, and they pulled a goal back on the hour.
Nolan’s long range shot smacked against the right hand post and Dagnall hit the rebound back into the goalmouth where O’Connor glanced a header past Ikeme.
PowellNStowell brought Abe on for Gallagher before Waghorn missed out on a chance to restore City’s two goal lead, blasting a shot over the bar when well placed.
Scunthorpe had City longing for the final whistle during one attacking spell, but neither Wright or O’Connor could take their chances and Wellens also headed an effort off the line. 
Moussa came on for Dyer in the 87th minute, and it was th eformer Southend-man who finally put the result beyond doubt in the third minute of time added on. King squared for Moussa and he slotted the ball into the bottom right hand corner from the edge of the area. Chris Powell showed his delight and enthusiasm joining in the players celebrations and even giving the linesman a hug. 
With Sven Goran Eriksson set to be named new City manager today it looks as though Powell and Stowell will have a 100% win ratio to their names.
Leicester: Ikeme, Berner, Hobbs, Miguel Vítor, Morrison, King, Dyer (Moussa 87), Wellens, Gallagher (Abe 67), Howard, Waghorn. Subs Not Used: Kennedy, Logan, N’Guessan, Moreno, Neilson.
Scunthorpe: Murphy, Byrne, Mirfin, Nolan, Canavan, Togwell (Collins 78), Woolford, Wright, Forte, Dagnall, Grant (O’Connor 56). Subs Not Used: McClenahan, Raynes, Slocombe, Boyes, Godden.

Referee: G Hegley (Hertfordshire). Attendance: 20,652.

The Late, Late Show

Bristol City 1:1 Leicester City

City managed to scrape a point from their meeting with Bristol City at Ashton Gate on Tuesday night, despite going a goal down in injury time…

City, unchanged from the side that beat Scunthorpe 5-1, almost took a first minute lead but after rounding keeper Gerken, Waghorn saw his shot blocked by Nyatanga.
Oakley then had a shot blocked before Brown had to be alert to snuff out a move at the other end, picking up a knock from Clarkson.
Hat trick hero Gallagher was busy but lacked the cutting edge of Saturday. One free-kick was directed round th epost by Gerken; another went narrowly wide and then the Scot sent a header straight at the keeper when it looked easier to score.
Carey sent a shot well over for the Robins while Weale produced a good save from an Elliott shot, but the half ended goalless.   
The home side began the second half in determined fashion and City were backpedalling for a while.
Clarkson fired a shot straight at Weale; Haynes chipped Weale but found the side-netting; and then Iwelumo dragged his shot wide when well placed.
City hit back and Waghorn got on the end of a Morrison cross but couldn’t keep his shot down. Then Oakley combined well with Waghorn but hit the post with Gerken beaten.
It was end to end stuff now and Weale saved well fromn Clarkson while King sent a shot narrowly over the bar. 
The game looked to winding down to a 0-0 draw however, when the 90 minutes came up. But City couldn’t clear a ball bouncing around their penalty area and Clarkson fired a shot on the turn under Weale and into the net.
Ashton Gate erupted, but was soon silenced as City hit back stright from the restart.
The ball was hoisted forward, Kermorgant nodded it on and Dyer latched onto a loose ball 12 yards out and lashed the ball past Gerken for an unlikely but deserved equaliser that sent the away fans mad.
Nigel Pearson commented: “I thought we played well and I think it would have been a travesty had we had come away without something tonight.”

Bristol: Gerken, Orr, Fontaine, Nyatanga, Carey, Elliott, Skuse (Sproule 60), Johnson, Clarkson, Haynes (Maynard 73), Iwelumo. Subs Not Used: Williams, Wilson, Hartley, Agyemang, Collis.
Leicester: Weale, Brown, Berner, Hobbs, Morrison, King, Dyer, Oakley (Adams 73), Wellens, Gallagher (N’Guessan 87), Waghorn (Kermorgant 72). Subs Not Used: Logan, Solano, Howard, McGivern.

Referee: S Hooper (Wiltshire). Attendance: 13,746.

Dyer Goal Settles Riverside Encounter

Middlesbrough 0:1 Leicester City

City bounced back from their home defeat to Preston with a victory at Middlesbrough on Tuesday night… 

Nigel Pearson changed nearly half his side for this long midweek trip: Morrison replaced Neilson at right back; Hobbs returned for the injured Tunchev in central defence; , King replaced tonsilitis victom Wellens in midfield; Dyer took N’Guessan’s place; and Kermorgant made his full debut replacing Howard up front.

A poor first half unfolded in front of the Riverside’s lowest ever gate, with few chances for either side.
Johnson got round the City defence early on and forced a save from Weale, and Brown blocked O’Neill’s follow up effort.
An Arca free-kick from a decent position saile dharmlessly over.
City’s best chance of the half fell to Kermorgant whose hurried shot went wide.
The half time whistle was greeted by boos and a worrying number of  limping City players making for the tunnel – Gallagher, King and especially Fryatt.
The second half brought more of the same uninspired fare and both managers brought on two subs around the hour mark – Pearson replacing his front pairing with Waghorn and Howard. Lita and Yeates came on for Boro, prompting the feeling that either the player we had on loan or the player who turned us down would be bound to score against us.
But they didn’t, despite Boro enjoying a much more lively attacking spell. Wheater sent a header too close to Weale when well placed; Johnson wasted a good chance with a badly taken free-kick and Weale produced a fantastic save to deny St Ledger from close in.
Just when it looked as though City would surely succumb to the pressure they had a great chance of their own. Jones failed to hold on to an Oakley free-kick and Hobbs sent the rebound against the post. 
A minute later, with seven minutes remaining, they had another chance and they took it. Oakley went on a good run and squared for Dyer to produce a neat finish.
700 City fans went wild at this rather unexpected turn of events and were soon in full voice advising Gareth Southgate that he would be: “Sacked in the morning!”
City survived five minutes of time added on and two late scares with Weale again pulling off a great save from Yeates before Wheater sent another effort wide when it looked easier to score.
It may not have been a great game, but it was a great result for Nigel Pearson’s side.

Boro: Jones, St Ledger, McMahon, Wheater, Williams, Bennett (Digard 86), Johnson, Arca (Yeates 62), O’Neil, Aliadiere, Emnes (Lita 62). Subs Not Used: Coyne, Hines, Grounds, Franks.
Leicester: Weale, Brown, Berner, Hobbs, Morrison, King, Dyer, Oakley, Gallagher (Adams 71), Fryatt (Howard 61), Kermorgant (Waghorn 61). Subs Not Used: Logan, N’Guessan, Neilson, McGivern.

Referee: M Haywood (West Yorkshire). Attendance: 18,577.