A lame Leicester side are given a good twatting by the fired up and resurgent Tigers.

Report by James Lockwood.

During the darkest days in the recent history of our club, I used to look up at Leicester with envy. Leicester and Hull are similar sized cities, both have rugby teams supported by those with some misguided superiority complex (I won’t go into the utter arse who I met on the train after seeing Ferriby at Wembley. Needless to say he and his other Leicester tigers supporters did make a mark on me that day). So whilst Leicester were off winning the League cup and having a run in Europe and we were struggling at the bottom of the league – there was a club I really thought City should be on a par with.

For vastly different reasons, both fans would say thanks to the efforts of one many we are now comfortably at that level. In fairness, I think Leicester’s current problems are down to the ridiculously high number of managers in recent seasons and they came to the KC under the guidance of TV’s favourite rent-a-quote Ian Holloway.

With ex-fox Delaney suspended, City lined up

Myhill
Ricketts Turner Brown Dawson
Garcia Ashbee Marney Hughes
Windass Folan

With the temperature gauge showing 4 degrees, the players were welcomed onto the pitch to a firework display – maybe to add some heating to the pitch. All that did was cloud the southern half of the pitch in smoke for a few minutes.

The early pattern of play pretty much summed up the whole game. City really got at Leicester, meaning the Foxes never really got into the game.

Ricketts started off trying to progress up the right, where he was met by a rather meaty challenge from one of the few Leicester’s impressive players – Sheenan. The resulting free-kick deep in their half was hit by Marney to the back angle of the box before being knocked out for a throw.

The Leicester back line didn’t have much time to settle all afternoon with the constant running and harrying of Folan. However he needs to keep an eye on his positioning. On 4, a lose ball is collected by Dawson who advances up the wing. His cross is met by Folan in an off-side position. From that free-kick, City again win possession and play the ball up the right to meet Folan who’s once again found off-side.

From a long Myhill clearance, Windass does well to turn his lumbering marker, McAuley. A volley on the turn from 30 yards then just flashed wide of the post.

On the left, Hughes, who’d been rather quiet up to that point jinked into the box before crossing to the back post to Garcia, who puts his head just wide. To be fair to Hughes, as the game wore on, his link-up with Dawson on the left grew as the game wore on, often with the Dawson pass up the wing opening space for Hughes to cut inside giving us the options down that left.

Following a scramble in the City box, being Leicester’s first attempt, City took the lead. A high ball was flicked on by Windass in the centre-circle to be met by the run of Folan. With 3 rather poorly positioned Fox defenders, Folan practically had the whole half to himself before calmly slotting past the exposed Fulop in the Leicester goal for City to take the lead.

The goal galvanises Leicester for a few chances. A Marney challenge on Sheenan is taken by the Irishman (or so the program tells me). The headed clearance is met by a lurking fox who dips his shot onto the roof of Myhill's goal. Another chance sees Leicester slip the ball along the edge of the box where Brown slips to leave Sheenan free, but an excellent Myhill save gives them a corner. The result of this eventually sees Leicester flagged for off-side.

City are increasingly playing the ball long to Folan's running. A long ball up the left sees Folan do very well to win a corner, which is played to the keeper.

Comedy play in the first half was offered to the City fans from the poor play of the left back Mattock. Little did we know of what was to come in the second half however. Mattock got in a good position up the left, but a wild slice saw the ball bobble out for a goal kick.

Under some Leicester pressure, Myhill punches a ball clear. This is knocked back towards Myhill where he collects the ball, before dropping under heavy pressure from Hume. The loose ball is cleared up the pitch to Hughes, but poor control allows Leicester to get the ball but not before conceding a corner. This is hit to the back post to be met by the head of Brown, but it’s soft and easily cleared

In the dying minutes of the half, after Windass plays him in, an admittedly soft challenge on Marney sees him go down with the ref waving play on. However a clearance to the half way line sees a Fox go down under a similarly soft challenge with the ref blowing up for a free-kick.

Looking back at the Southampton match report, it says Ashbee was hardly mentioned for good reason. I see he’s not been mentioned again. Yesterday for out captain was really a game where you describe Ash as being Ash. His supporters will point to the challenges and cover he provided to the back line, whilst in possession, he kept the ball moving with simple short passes. However his detractors will point to the odd lose pass, maybe the occasional bad challenge and the fact that his longer passing and shooting are not that good. Ashbee will always in the eyes of the fans be one of those conundrums to be pondered.

Half time, we were entertained by a local brass band. I really do miss the Christmas Rev. Alan Bagshaw and his Casio keyboard sometimes in these games.

The second half sees Leicester replace Kaebi and oddly Sheenan with Collins John and Leon Cort’s brother. This had little effect, as it was really the bite in midfield that Leicester were lacking, so the two lumps up front tactic didn’t really help that for them.

The first action sees Garcia wriggle free by the corner flag with his cross just evading Folan.

After Johns shows his Premier League abilities by going down rather easily from a Turner challenge, he later holds off Turner on the angle of the box before putting his shot on the turn wide.

A ball up to Folan who turns McAuley before the Fox recovers to concede a throw in. Dawson and Hughes combine to win a corner, which in turn is hit very long by Hughes. The loose ball is collected by Ashbee, but his low cross is cleared.

Windass gets the first booking of the day after diving in rather late on McAuley.

McAuley's frustrations to this challenge appear a minute later as he dives in on Hughes around the half way. The Dawson free-kick is cleared out to 35 yards where Cort fouls Hughes. That free-kick is taken by Windass who puts the chance wide.

Within 20 minutes of the second half, Leicester use the last of their subs, replacing Hume with the laughably poor Stearman.

The Hughes and Dawson left wing combination continues to build up many good chances for us. On one occasion this sets up a Windass scissor kick which is blocked, whilst later it’s played back to Ashbee, whose cross is met by a rather soft header from Windass..

71 minutes sees the first Tiger change. Despite Windass being visibly tired and Flan’s running causing the Leicester defence problems, it is Folan who’s replaced by Campbell.

The change in personnel offered little change to the Leicester defence. Campbell’s took over from Folan to run the opposing defence ragged. In fact his running set up Windass to break into the box where he was clearly tripped by N’Gotty. The resulting penalty saw Windass’s shot crash off the post and loop up after hitting the back of the keepers head, where Campbell was quickest to react to knock in and put us 2-0 up. The immediate post goal inquisition questions if that was Windass’s 4th penalty miss from 5 this season (even though 3 of which were subsequently knocked in)?

Windass was replaced by Livermore as City held their advantage by switching to a 4-5-1 formation.

This change once again gives Leicester a chance to get back into the game. Leicester break down out left, where a cross is half cleared, before Myhill easily pouches the return shot. Further a soft free-kick on out left is headed over by Dawson for a corner, with the resulting melee seeing the ball wide for another corner, which is finally cleared by Ricketts.

With the minutes ticking down, good work between Livermore and Marney release Campbell, who dribbles into the box. However in taking the ball too wide, he finds the angle too tight to get a decent shot away.

Just as the 4th official indicated 3 minutes time added on, Leicester advance up our right before crossing to Cort who heads over. The final 3 minutes offer little, aside from Mattocks booking.

Overall, we controlled a game against a poor Leicester side and were rarely troubled.

HULL CITY (4-4-2): Myhill; Ricketts, Turner, Brown, Dawson; Garcia, Ashbee, Marney, Hughes; Folan, Windass.  Subs: Campbell (for Folan, 72), Livermore (for Windass, 79), Doyle, McPhee, Duke.

Goals: Folan 17; Campbell 78

Booked: Windass

Sent Off: None

LEICESTER CITY: Fulop, N'Gotty, Kisnorbo, McAuley, Mattock, Kaebi, Clemence, King, Sheehan, Hume, Fryatt.  Subs: Cort (for Kaebi, 46), John (for Sheehan, 46), Stearman (for Hume, 66), Hayes, Kenton.

Goals: None

Booked: Mattock, Sheehan

Sent Off: None

REFEREE:  G Salisbury

ATTENDANCE: 16,006