Leicester City 1-0 Ipswich Town - Half-Time Monday, 22nd Jan 2024 20:55 A 31st-minute Leif Davis own goal has given leaders Leicester City a 1-0 half-time lead over the Blues at the King Power Stadium. Massimo Luongo returned to the Town line-up having missed the 2-1 win at home to Sunderland just over a week ago due to an ankle injury with Jack Taylor dropping to the bench. Elsewhere, the team was the same as the one which started against the Black Cats other than Marcus Harness coming in for Nathan Broadhead, who was also among the subs. Skipper Sam Morsy was again absent as he served the final game of his two-match ban. For Leicester, whose manager Enzo Maresca was serving a one-game touchline ban, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall was fit enough to start having been a doubt with a knock picked up in their last game, the 3-1 defeat at Coventry. Cesare Casadei, who has been recalled by parent club Chelsea, and Abdul Fatawu, suspended having been sent off against the Sky Blues, were replaced by Hamza Choudhury and Kasey McAteer. Veteran frontman Jamie Vardy returned to the bench, having been out of action since December with a knee injury. Town won a corner within the first 30 seconds but it was the Foxes who would cause the first moment of defensive concern in the third minute, Lewis Travis missing the ball and allowing Tom Cannon to break into the area. Harry Clarke slid in to dispossess the former Everton striker and Luongo subsequently got in McAteer’s way after the loose ball had run to the Leicester wideman and Vaclav Hladky was able to claim. On 12, Harry Winks, who played for Blues boss Kieran McKenna in the Tottenham academy, hit a shot which deflected through to Hladky from the edge of the box after Town had failed to properly clear their lines. There was a bigger scare for the Blues in the 16th minute when Foxes skipper Ricardo Pereira cut out an under-hit Wes Burns pass to Travis and burst down the left flank before cutting back to an untracked Dewsbury-Hall, who scuffed his shot well wide when he will feel he should have done better. A minute later, Town lost possession midway inside their half as they were passing out from the back and eventually Cannon was fed in on the left of the box but Luke Woolfenden got across to block. Despite those chances, it hadn’t been entirely Leicester with the Blues also having spells on the ball, although without being given time to pass out from the back in comfort - and giving away possession too easily on occasion - and having failed to cause the home side’s backline any problems. Hladky was forced into his first save in the 26th minute when Choudhury hit a curling 20-yard effort towards the left corner of the Czech’s net but the keeper got cross to comfortably palm wide. Town carved out their first chance of the match on 28, Davis crossing low from the left and Kayden Jackson turning into the path of Conor Chaplin, but the stand-in skipper’s shot flew well over. But three minutes later, the home side took the lead. Stephy Mavididi and Ricardo exchanged passes on the left of the box, the wideman crossed, Hladky got a hand to it and the unfortunate Davis was unable to avoid diverting it into his own net from a couple of feet. McAteer struck a shot which deflected wide for a corner on 37, from which Jannik Vestergaard nodded straight at Hladky. A minute later, Ricardo missed a great opportunity to make it 2-0 when Woolfenden’s under-powered headed clearance landed at his feet 12 yards out but the home captain stabbed his low shot well wide. On 42, McAteer curled a strike well over. In the final scheduled minute, Hladky saved across to his right from Cannon’s low shot from just outside the area, the loose ball falling to Wout Faes, who was in an offside position. As the half moved into one additional minute, Burns cut inside from the left but sent his shot deep into the stand. That was the last action of a half from which the Foxes deserved to be in front having been in charge for the most part, creating most of the game’s opportunities, even if Davis was a little unfortunate to concede the own goal. Town had struggled to cause the Leicester defence many problems, finding it hard to pass their way out from the back and perhaps not positive enough when getting into dangerous areas. The shots over the bar from Chaplin and Burns were the nearest to threatening home keeper Mads Hermansen’s goal. Town need to improve after the break if they’re to claim anything from the match and climb back ahead of Southampton. Leicester: Hermansen, Faes, Vestergaard, Justin, Choudhury, Winks, Ricardo (c), Dewsbury-Hall, McAteer, Mavididi, Cannon. Subs: Stolarczyk, Coady, Doyle, Vardy, Albrighton, Praet, Akgun, Marcal, Nelson. Town: Hladky, Clarke, Woolfenden, Edmundson, Davis, Travis, Luongo, Burns, Chaplin (c), Harness, Jackson. Subs: Walton, Tuanzebe, Ball, Humphreys, Taylor, Hutchinson, Sarmiento, Aluko, Broadhead. Referee: Josh Smith (Bedfordshire).
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