Dyer and Danns deliver derby delight!

It was certainly a game of two halves at Pride Park this evening. Leicester were completely dominant in the first half, creating a host of chances and could have killed the game off by half time. City took the lead in the sixteenth minute after breaking from their own half. Dyer raced past the Derby right back and crossed to the far post. Neil Danns arrived late and volleyed the cross into the net - an excellent goal. Danns continued to threaten throughout the first half, hitting the post and forcing Fielding into another important save. City should have pushed home their advantage and the game should have been won by the break.


In the second half, Derby seemed revitalised and threatened to score an undeserved equaliser. The home team dominated possession in the second period and, with a 1-0 lead, Leicester City were never entirely comfortable. Despite this, Leicester hit the bar twice and the post once in the second period and had opportunites to finish the game in a more comfortable fashion. Leicester had 16 shots to Deby's 8, with 10 shots on target over the course of the game. For an away performance, against local rivals, it would be hard to argue that the victory wasn't well deserved. With the next two fixtures against teams sitting in 23rd and 20th place respectively, City must win both to feel optimistic about their chances in the final 12 games.

'High risk' Foxes too dangerous for Canaries!

There was certainly an extra edge to this afternoon's fifth round FA Cup tie between the Cities of Norwich and Leicester. The home side made a ludicrous decision, backed by the FA, to refuse Leicester their 15% ticket allocation. As a result, Leicester took just 2400 fans, instead of the 4200 fans that they were entitled to take under FA rules. Norwich justified their decision by arguing that Leicester fans were "high risk." Not only does this taint the good name of Leicester fans but also flies in the face of common sense. The Foxes took 8000 fans to Nottingham Forest, their fiercest local rivals, just weeks ago and there was no trouble at all. Clearly, Norwich's decision was based upon their own selfish intent to fill the ground with home supporters. The FA should never have allowed this to happen and should be ashamed of not insisting that their rules were adhered to.

The atmosphere was electric and you could have been forgiven for thinking that Leicester were the home team. The Foxes fans made up for the ticketing debacle by outsinging their opponents and the team certainly outperformed the Canaries. To come away from home against a competent Premiership team and secure 56% possession in the game speaks volumes. Danns and Wellens, who have shown patchy form of late, dominated the midfield. In addition, Morgan and Kennedy came in to the defence, replacing Mills and Konchesky and performed admirably. On today's evidence, they will be hard to dislodge from the starting line-up for Thursday's trip to Derby.

Leicester scored the opener after 5 minutes, from their fourth corner of the game. Marshall crossed to the near post and St. Ledger headed past the Norwich keeper. Leicester continued to dominate and will be disappointed that they were not leading at half time. Schmeichel fouled Bennett to concede a penalty in the 23rd minute. The Dane pulled off a good save but Hoolahan sliced the rebound into the net. Leicester continued to press in the second half and Nugent scored an excellent goal 19 minutes from time to send the Foxes into the Quarter Finals. Leicester fans could be forgiven for wanting to be underdogs again in the next round - Liverpool away perhaps? After all, Leicester v Wycombe in the Quarter Final 11 years ago didn't exactly go to plan...

Watford Win Despite David’s Double!

This was comfortably Leicester’s most disappointing result and performance of the season so far. On the back of a good display against high flying Cardiff, City were looking for their first back to back league victories since February 2011. Watford played a simple, direct style of football that Leicester’s back four, assembled at a cost of approximately £8 million, failed to deal with adequately. As a result, they conceded two sloppy goals in the first half and were forced to change personnel at half time. Peltier was replaced, St. Ledger was moved to right back and Morgan was brought on from the bench to play at centre back. Despite this reshuffle, Leicester still conceded a third goal in the second half and subsequently lost the game 3-2.

Frustratingly, Leicester had been 2-1 ahead, less than 20 minutes into the game, after two outstanding strikes from David Nugent.  First he cut in from the left to curl a right footed strike into the bottom corner. Just seven minutes later, he fired a fierce volley into the top corner, from outside the penalty area – an effort which must be a contender for goal of the season. Leicester dominated possession, created more chances and had more efforts on target than the home side. Despite this, they conspired to lose the game by giving away cheap free kicks and surrendering possession in dangerous areas. It has been the story of their season to date.

To have any chance of reaching the play offs, Leicester need to win 10 and draw 3 of their remaining 15 games – a completely unrealistic ambition given their results of late. Knocking the Canaries off their perch in the FA Cup this Saturday offers Leicester their final opportunity to extend any realistic, competitive interest in this season. Given their unpredictable form, it would be unwise to bet against them!

Super Gally goes ballistic, Cardiff are atrocious!

Two blistering strikes from Paul Gallagher gave Leicester a deserved home win over a surprisingly poor Cardiff side. The visiting team, sitting 4th in the Championship table, didn't manage a single shot on target, from open play, during the whole game. It was clear from the outset that Cardiff had come for a draw, as they sat with at least 10 men behind the ball for the entire first half. A clumsy challenge from Vuckic on Wellens gave City a penalty kick shortly before half time. Gallagher thumped the spot kick past David Marshall, who didn't bother to move. St. Ledger, Konchesky and Gallagher all had further chances in the first half, meaning that a 1-0 deficit flattered Cardiff at half time.

Leicester failed to pass the ball as competently in the second half and surrendered possession too easily. However, Cardiff were simply not good enough to capitalise and Leicester looked comfortable throughout. Gallagher curled a beautiful free kick into the corner in the 71st minute to give the home side breathing space. A dubious penalty was awarded to the visitors 13 minutes from time, after an apparent push in the penalty area. Whittingham despatched the resulting kick but it was a goal that Cardiff scarcely deserved. The Welsh team never looked like finding the equaliser and Leicester were full value for their first home win in 5 games and deservedly ended Cardiff's 9 game unbeaten run. After this win, City sneak into the top half of the Championship. A win at Watford on Tuesday night and Leicester will be dreaming of that elusive 6th place once more!

Seagulls sink sorry Leicester.

Leicester had two men sent off, finished the game with eight men and conceded a 90th minute winner to Brighton at the Amex Stadium this afternoon. Jermaine Beckford's dismissal seemed harsh in the 53rd minute after an apparent foul on Brighton's Dunk. Both sides were down to 10 men when Sparrow received his marching orders, 5 minutes from time. However, with 18 seconds left on the clock, Will Buckley slotted the winner into the bottom left hand corner for the home side. Three minutes into injury time, Neil Danns received City's second red card of the game after his second bookable offence. Having used all three substitutions, Leicester were down to 8 men when substitute Delfouneso limped off shortly after.

The defeat leaves City languishing in the bottom half of the Championship with just 10 points from the last 10 league games. Only 5 other Championship teams have secured a worse tally in that time period. Even the most ardent Leicester fan would have to concede that the play-offs are unreachable this term. Last season, a tally of 75 points was needed to secure 6th place. On that basis, City would need to notch up 36 more points from their final 17 games, a completely unrealistic goal on current form. If you disagree, consider this fact: February 2011 was the last time Leicester notched up two successive league wins, a depressing and sobering statistic...

Pearson "told the referee where to go!"

When the calm, measured, unflappable Nigel Pearson "tells the referee where to go," you know that it has not been a great evening for the officials. The referee put in a shocking performance at the King Power Stadium this evening, making a string of errors and ultimately lost both control of the game and the respect of the players. At half-time, he entered the home team dressing room and interrupted Pearson in full flow. Pearson admitted afterwards "I told the referee where to go." Upon his return to the bench at the start of the second half, Pearson was sent to the stands. In his post match interview, Pearson stated that he "cannot wait" to lodge a complaint with the FA.

The game itself was competitive and littered with errors. City were poor in the first half, with lots of mis-placed passes and errors in midfield. In the 7th minute, Nugent headed in from close range after a clever cross from Wellens. The smallest man on the pitch scored a headed equaliser for Middlesborough from their corner ten minutes later. The otherwise impressive Drinkwater cost City a free kick ten minutes from time, which McMahon fired into the bottom corner for the visitors. Beckford's perseverance paid off four minutes from time when he challenged the keeper and slid the rebound in from the tightest of angles. The Leicester striker was unlucky not to score a couple more during the course of the game and looks increasingly impressive as the season wears on. City travel to Brighton on Saturday. A win will leapfrog them over the Albion and into the top half of the table.