LEEDS UNITED 0-1 LEICESTER CITY
After a rocky start to the new year, which had included losing all 3 games played, Leeds United came into this game against Championship league-leaders Leicester on the back of an embarrassing 6-0 defeat to Yorkshire neighbours Sheffield Wednesday last time out.
Leeds’ manager Brian McDermott stated before kick off that Leeds were ‘playing for pride’ in this game, and it showed as Leeds started the stronger, in a game that can only be described as end to end.
Newly-appointed Leeds skipper Ross McCormack rattled the inside of the post with a header, and a minute later Jamie Vardy almost edged Leicester ahead but also struck the post. Leeds, looking to exploit Kasper Schmeichel’s habit of coming from his line, had an effort cleared off the line as McCormack chipped Schmeichel leaving the keeper stranded, before he forced the keeper to tip a deflected rebound effort wide.
It was McCormack again who troubled the Leicester defence after being sent through on goal by an awry back pass from Paul Konchesky, McCormack hit a tame effort straight at the out-rushing Schmeichel, to the disbelief of Leeds’ manager Brian McDermott.
Leicester tested the Leeds defence again on the half hour mark, with Ritchie De Laet and Anthony Knockaert combining, only for the latter to blaze a shot over the bar.
Into the second half, and after referee Mike Dean gave a couple of conspicuous free-kicks to the away side, Leicester were starting to get a hold on the game as Leeds attacking line tired, before Leeds’ new signing Cameron Stewart burst into life, with two deflected efforts, raising the voices of the home support.
Leicester turned to their veteran debutant Kevin Phillips, recently signed on a free transfer after Leaving Crystal Palace, to replace Jamie Vardy who was on a yellow card, and troubled within minutes, firing over the crossbar from close range.
But the winner came just 3 minutes from time, with Liam Moore crossing from the right hand side, Phillips letting the ball run, and Nugent out muscling Tom Lees to Poke home past ‘keeper Paddy Kenny, to break Leeds hearts.
| Paddy Kenny – Didn’t have much to do, Leicester registered one shot on target in the game, their winner. | 7.0 |
| Sam Byram – Turned in another impressive display, made Dyer seem average down the left. | 8.0 |
| Tom Lees – Was steady at the back and partnered Jason Pearce well, much better than last week. | 6.5 |
| Jason Pearce – Looked strong, lead the line, and closed down opponents fast. | 7.0 |
| Stephen Warnock – Troubled by Knockaert and Vardy throughout the game, but overall did well. Offered an attacking threat down the left. | 7.0 |
| Jimmy Kebe – Linked up well with the forwards, but didn’t make much of an impression on the game. | 6.0 |
| Rodolph Austin – Didn’t get stuck in as much as usual, but there was Brown to do that anyway. Few decent passes. | 6.5 |
| Michael Brown – Veteran midfielder won most of his battles and put in a solid performance. | 7.0 |
| Cameron Stewart – Quiet in the first half on his home debut, but had a couple of shots in the second. Did better once De Laet went off. | 6.5 |
| Luke Varney – Impressive performance from the journeyman striker. Won most of his aerial battles and almost got on the score-sheet. | 8.0 |
| Ross McCormack – Took his new title as captain under his belt with a performance to be proud of. Could’ve had a hat-trick in the first half. | 8.5 |
Substitutions
| Lee Peltier – Didn’t have enough time to make an impression. | 6.0 |
| El Hadji Diouf – Held the ball up, did a few flicks of the ball. only came on in the 86th minute. | 6.5 |
| Kasper Schmeichel – After a patchy start, kept Leeds at bay well. Great distribution as always. | 8.5 |
| Ritchie De Laet – Had a solid game and kept Leeds’ winger Stewart mostly at bay. | 7.5 |
| Wes Morgan – Strong at the back but let McCormack slip past a few times. | 7.0 |
| Liam Moore – The highly rated defender did his reputation no harm with this performance and topped it off with an assist. | 8.0 |
| Paul Konchesky – Seemed to have Kebe in his back pocket, but couldnt keep up with the pace and movement of Byram. | 7.5 |
| Anthony Knockaert – Fairly quiet considering what he has played like this season. | 6.5 |
| Danny Drinkwater – Played a central part to Leicester’s passing game, but gave a few fouls away. | 7.0 |
| Matty James – The youngster has a decent game, played a box to box role. | 7.0 |
| Lloyd Dyer – Was made to look like an average player by Leeds’ right back Byram, but still created a few chances here and there. | 6.5 |
| Jamie Vardy – Constantly testing the Leeds defense with all ranges of attacking choices before being subbed after picking up a booking. | 7.5 |
| David Nugent – Didn’t really implement himself into the game, only things of note were an off the ball kick on Pearce and the Goal. | 7.0 |
Substitutions
| Marcin Wesilewski – Didn’t quite do as much as De Laet going forward, but he defended well. | 6.5 |
| Kevin Phillips – As you would expect, he didn’t play bad. Came on and tested Leeds’ defense and effectively assisted Nugent’s goal with a clever dummy. | 7.0 |
| Andy King – Didn’t have sufficient time to stamp his mark on the game. | 6.5 |
Man of the match
| Kasper Schmeichel – Put in a strong performance between the sticks and was evidently up for the game against his previous employers. | 8.5 |
