Leicester ended Blackpool's unbeaten start to the season with a hard-fought 1-0 victory at the King Power Stadium this evening. The Foxes dominated from the outset and could have been a couple of goals up by half-time, with Vardy posing a real attacking threat to the visitors. Leicester had two penalty appeals turned away, before Vardy tumbled in the box ten minutes into the second half. It was a debatable penalty, although there was no doubt about Marshall's thumping strike from the spot. In truth, Leicester could have scored a couple more in the second half. Defensively, the Foxes will be delighted with how well they restricted Blackpool, who scored 6 against Ipswich last week, from creating many clear cut opportunities. City were clinging on in the last few minutes but were good value for the victory. The win moves them up to 9th place in the table with Blackpool remaining top.
Despite the win and the clean sheet, there must still be question marks about the defensive cover available to Leicester. With no defenders on the bench, City finished the match with the diminutive Paul Konchesky playing at centre back and striker Jeff Schlupp playing at left back. It's a worry that just 4 games into the season, Nigel Pearson is having to make do. When suspensions and injuries kick in, the shortage of squad cover in defensive positions may well come back to haunt Pearson. For now though, the manager will enjoy this victory and hope that the two week international break allows him enough time to get all of his defenders fully fit. Next up, a lunchtime match at Wolves on Sunday 16th September. No easy games in this league.
No comments:
Post a Comment