A 10-man Town reserve side were unlucky to fall to a 1-0 defeat against Leicester in gale force conditions at Playford Road. Keeper Lewis Price was the star, saving a penalty after sub Jerrome Sobers had been sent off for a professional foul, and making a string of other impressive stops.

The Blues were without striker Dean Bowditch who picked up a slight injury in the warm-up on Saturday. In his place recent signing Dean McDonald joined Pablo Couñago up front.

The conditions, far worse than the blustery winds of Saturday's game at Portman Road, meant that this was never going to be a classic and good football was a rarity throughout.

Leicester probably had the better of the wind during the first half and skipper Richard Stearman tried to make the most of the conditions with a 20-yard blast in the 11th minute but Lewis Price was equal to it.

The visitors had the better chances early on, James Wesolowski hitting a low freekick which went just wide of Price's right post. Soon after, Tommy Wright looped the ball over his shoulder from a corner but his effort was blocked, Scott Mitchell clearing the danger.

Town's first chance of the game fell to Pablo Couñago in the 24th minute. The Spaniard chased a powerful header from Liam Manning and was through one-on-one with the keeper but scuffed his shot over the bar.

Dean McDonald just failed to get a touch on a Scott Mitchell cross in the 42nd minute, before Leicester went close to going in front. A long wind-assisted ball sent Chris O'Grady away behind Drissa Diallo but the Leicester player took the ball too wide before hitting a shot which Lewis Price palmed away, Ben Patten completing the clearance.

At the break Drissa Diallo, playing his first game since his hamstring injury, was replaced with Jerrome Sobers. The Guinean was suffering with concussion and a cut to his lip after a clash of heads earlier in the half. The former Burnley man reported no recurrence of his hamstring injury.

Couñago wasn't far from a goal two minutes after the break, the Spaniard just failing to get a toe on to Daniel Flack's right-wing cross. Not long after, Steve McCall brought Adem Atay on in place of midfielder Scott Barron who was feeling a recurrence of the groin injury which required surgery earlier in the season.

Leicester looked certain to go ahead in the 49th minute when Peter Canero was found in the area with only Price to beat. Fortunately for the Blues he made a complete mess of his shot and the ball went wide.

The Foxes had an even better opportunity to go ahead five minutes later when sub Sobers pulled down Canero inside the penalty area. The central defender had denied the Leicester player an obvious goalscoring opportunity and the referee had little option but to show him a red card, his second in three days, the big defender having also seen red in the U18 side's 1-0 defeat at West Ham on Saturday.

Tommy Wright was given the task of beating Price from 12 yards but hit a weak kick to the keeper's right, the Town stopper pushing the ball away and Mitchell clearing. It was Price's third penalty save of the season, the Wales U21 having saved one at Coventry for the first team and another while on loan at Cambridge United.

Town were very much against it with 10 men but defended resolutely, Matt Richards doing well in an unfamiliar central defensive role.

On the hour, Chris O'Grady headed a Scot Gemmill corner wide, before Price made another fine save, parrying the same player's powerful strike from the right of the area.

A quick Town break in the 65th minute saw Flack play a good ball to Couñago but the striker's shot was well-saved by Lars Hirschfeld, a Canadian international team-mate of Jason De Vos and Jaime Peters.

Leicester had another golden opportunity shortly afterwards, Canero finding Alan Sheehan in the area but once again the chance was wasted, the ball skidding wide of the post.

Town replaced earlier sub Atay with Owen Garvan, the Irish youngster having been withdrawn from a Ireland U17 squad facing Slovenia in two friendlies this week so he can play in Wednesday's FA Youth Cup fifth round match with Aston Villa at Portman Road.

Town's defensive cause was further weakened with 14 minutes left when Ben Patten went down injured suffering with a shoulder injury. The ex-Ford United man looked in a lot of pain but after treatment bravely carried on.

Price made another excellent save from O'Grady, but late on it was mainly the Blues pressing for a goal, despite effectively being down to nine-and-a-half players, Patten appearing very hampered by his injury.

On 85 Dean McDonald had a decent call for a penalty when he was pulled back inside the area, the referee feeling there was contact on the ball and awarding a corner. The once again very impressive Owen Garvan sent in a curling cross-shot which only just went past Hirschfeld's post.

The Blues went close again in the 87th minute, Scott Mitchell getting onto a loose ball inside the area after a corner and stabbing the ball goalwards only for Hirschfeld to pull off a fine save.

But it was Leicester who would break the deadlock, very much against the run of play. The Foxes broke quickly after a Town corner and sub Liam Norvall showed the kind of composure his team-mates had lacked earlier in the game, slipping the ball past the advancing Price and into the net.

The goal was unfair on a Town side mainly made up of youngsters, but they almost grabbed an equaliser in the 90th minute when Dean McDonald headed a deep Matt Richards freekick onto the bar, Pablo Couñago following up having his effort cleared off the line by Sheehan.

Late on, Lewis Price went up for a corner with the Blues desperately looking for the equalising goal they deserved from a battling display.

Price was an obvious man of the match for Town having made a number of fine saves, but there were also decent performances from Liam Manning, playing the holding role in midfield, Matt Richards, unusually at the centre of defence, and latterly Owen Garvan, who looks a class act in midfield.

Drissa Diallo was off the pace, as you'd expect from a player who has been out of action for a few months and who had suffered a knock, while Pablo Couñago had a quiet game, although on another day might have scored twice.

Reserves: Price, Mitchell, Karbassiyoon, Manning, Diallo (Sobers 46), Patten, Flack, Barron (Atay 48 (Garvan 71)), Couñago, McDonald.

Photo: Action Images

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