Leicester City 0 Leeds United 0: Whites are happy to settle for a point - YEP 11/8/13
Two league games played, four Championship points earned and the first week of the season negotiated in tidy fashion.
Only nine of the division’s clubs remained unbeaten last night and Leeds United were one of them, their record defended by a goalless draw at Leicester City.
Leeds have come to expect something from trips to Leicester and yesterday’s result did not disappoint, even if a cagey game struggled to raise a smile.
It is invariably the same story when United travel to the KP Stadium – finely-balanced, attritional matches – and on this occasion there was no Adam Clayton to pick out the corner of City’s net. But a point away from home is a point gained. Leeds collected a mere 19 last season.
It will matter to Brian McDermott that in rugged circumstances, his team were neither bullied nor outplayed by a side as fancied as Leicester are.
Nigel Pearson, City’s manager, complained that his own players had been the victims of United’s stronger arm last season and he too had the modest satisfaction of even performance. It was simply a fight which neither side truly looked like winning.
United have avoided defeat in all of their past six meetings and Leicester’s only league wins since 2006 have come by way of injury-time goals. United’s appalling rout here 10 years ago increasingly stands out as an anomaly.
Their performance was like most under McDermott in his short tenure so far: organised, intense and lacking only a touch of finesse in the areas of the field where finesse counts.
Yesterday was an afternoon when the out-and-out wingers McDermott craves would have torn into the space behind Leicester’s wing-backs but in the absence of serious transfer funds, United’s boss has built himself a solid base. It can only be hoped that the last few weeks of the summer window give him some extra cards to play.
The issue of the captaincy at Leeds was resolved before kick-off when McDermott, as many thought he would, gave the armband to Rodolph Austin.
The recall of the Jamaican after a three-match ban was a more delicate decision, giving an opportunity to a player who looked rampant in parts of pre-season but sacrificing a midfielder in Michael Tonge who dictated key parts of last weekend’s victory over Brighton. Leeds were glad of Austin’s domineering strength at both ends of the pitch.
It was McDermott’s only change from the first game of the season and United’s midweek defeat of Chesterfield in the League Cup was not a performance for him to dwell on or bow to. There was no immediate uncertainty on the part of his team either and Leicester spent the early minutes of the game looking over their shoulders as Leeds found room to work on both flanks.
Pearson’s formation – 3-5-2 with Ritchie De Laet and Paul Konchesky well advanced – leant itself to McDermott’s tactics and made Leicester vulnerable. Jason Pearce had an opportunity to set the cat among the pigeons in the fifth minute but headed Noel Hunt’s measured cross over the bar under a limited amount of pressure. The net was teasing him from six yards out.
City followed the same route forward five minutes later, with De Laet feeding Andy King on the right wing and King crossing wastefully into Paddy Kenny’s hands, and the brief trade of chances revealed where a goal might come from. Pearce halted a more direct attack when he body-checked Jamie Vardy and earned the game’s first caution with less than quarter of an hour gone.
A certain tension hung in the air and Leeds saw as much of the ball as their hosts. Luke Murphy was dispossessed by De Laet as he prepared to strike Green’s cut-back on the edge of City’s box and David Nugent’s jinking run into the box was met by the uncompromising frame of Austin, present in the right place at the right time.
The football was open but the atmosphere felt tight, a situation in which fractions mattered. Pearson accosted referee Keith Stroud after he first cut out a pass from Konchesky on the edge of United’s box and then unintentionally laid the ball off the Austin.
The official excused himself with an apologetic shrug as Pearson raised his eyes to the sky.
The Championship is still at that stage of the season where the men in black – or purple, as Stroud was wearing yesterday – are forgiven the odd misdemeanour. The first half had more of chess than Risk about it and the interval came without Kenny or Kasper Schmeichel making a save that passed as a save.
United’s away crowd of 3,000 entertained themselves with continuous chants for 10 minutes before half-time, creating life in a stadium which was littered with empty seats, and Tom Lees soldiered through a kick to his leg, averting the impossible challenge of replacing him from a bench with no centre-backs on it.
It was inevitable, still, that both managers would turn to their substitutes before long as the match cried out for a piece of magic. Pearson went first, ending De Laet’s afternoon and sending Lloyd Dyer into the fray, as Leeds peppered Schmeichel’s box with crosses which failed to pick out gold shirts.
Anthony Knockaert followed from Leicester’s bench soon after. McDermott followed suit and gave Dominic Poleon the last 25 minutes.
The pressure came predominantly from Leeds but Nugent and Jamie Vardy both threatened Kenny. Vardy drew one low parry from the keeper with a deflected shot and hacked a lob into the crowd as he chased a through-ball into United’s box. He became Pearson’s last throw of the dice, replaced by Chris Wood.
Wood it was who almost broke the deadlock with nine minutes left when his surging run past Pearce ended with a shot which beat Kenny all ends up and shook the foot of his left-hand post. Leicester paid £1.25m for the striker’s power and precision and are well-quoted by the bookmakers on the basis of consistent investment.
Matt Smith, who joined Leeds on a free transfer in June, almost snatched the points in injury-time when Schmeichel touched his header into the side-netting.
As with Brighton last weekend, Leeds did not fail to cope in Leicester’s company. McDermott can draw confidence from that.
Only nine of the division’s clubs remained unbeaten last night and Leeds United were one of them, their record defended by a goalless draw at Leicester City.
Leeds have come to expect something from trips to Leicester and yesterday’s result did not disappoint, even if a cagey game struggled to raise a smile.
It is invariably the same story when United travel to the KP Stadium – finely-balanced, attritional matches – and on this occasion there was no Adam Clayton to pick out the corner of City’s net. But a point away from home is a point gained. Leeds collected a mere 19 last season.
It will matter to Brian McDermott that in rugged circumstances, his team were neither bullied nor outplayed by a side as fancied as Leicester are.
Nigel Pearson, City’s manager, complained that his own players had been the victims of United’s stronger arm last season and he too had the modest satisfaction of even performance. It was simply a fight which neither side truly looked like winning.
United have avoided defeat in all of their past six meetings and Leicester’s only league wins since 2006 have come by way of injury-time goals. United’s appalling rout here 10 years ago increasingly stands out as an anomaly.
Their performance was like most under McDermott in his short tenure so far: organised, intense and lacking only a touch of finesse in the areas of the field where finesse counts.
Yesterday was an afternoon when the out-and-out wingers McDermott craves would have torn into the space behind Leicester’s wing-backs but in the absence of serious transfer funds, United’s boss has built himself a solid base. It can only be hoped that the last few weeks of the summer window give him some extra cards to play.
The issue of the captaincy at Leeds was resolved before kick-off when McDermott, as many thought he would, gave the armband to Rodolph Austin.
The recall of the Jamaican after a three-match ban was a more delicate decision, giving an opportunity to a player who looked rampant in parts of pre-season but sacrificing a midfielder in Michael Tonge who dictated key parts of last weekend’s victory over Brighton. Leeds were glad of Austin’s domineering strength at both ends of the pitch.
It was McDermott’s only change from the first game of the season and United’s midweek defeat of Chesterfield in the League Cup was not a performance for him to dwell on or bow to. There was no immediate uncertainty on the part of his team either and Leicester spent the early minutes of the game looking over their shoulders as Leeds found room to work on both flanks.
Pearson’s formation – 3-5-2 with Ritchie De Laet and Paul Konchesky well advanced – leant itself to McDermott’s tactics and made Leicester vulnerable. Jason Pearce had an opportunity to set the cat among the pigeons in the fifth minute but headed Noel Hunt’s measured cross over the bar under a limited amount of pressure. The net was teasing him from six yards out.
City followed the same route forward five minutes later, with De Laet feeding Andy King on the right wing and King crossing wastefully into Paddy Kenny’s hands, and the brief trade of chances revealed where a goal might come from. Pearce halted a more direct attack when he body-checked Jamie Vardy and earned the game’s first caution with less than quarter of an hour gone.
A certain tension hung in the air and Leeds saw as much of the ball as their hosts. Luke Murphy was dispossessed by De Laet as he prepared to strike Green’s cut-back on the edge of City’s box and David Nugent’s jinking run into the box was met by the uncompromising frame of Austin, present in the right place at the right time.
The football was open but the atmosphere felt tight, a situation in which fractions mattered. Pearson accosted referee Keith Stroud after he first cut out a pass from Konchesky on the edge of United’s box and then unintentionally laid the ball off the Austin.
The official excused himself with an apologetic shrug as Pearson raised his eyes to the sky.
The Championship is still at that stage of the season where the men in black – or purple, as Stroud was wearing yesterday – are forgiven the odd misdemeanour. The first half had more of chess than Risk about it and the interval came without Kenny or Kasper Schmeichel making a save that passed as a save.
United’s away crowd of 3,000 entertained themselves with continuous chants for 10 minutes before half-time, creating life in a stadium which was littered with empty seats, and Tom Lees soldiered through a kick to his leg, averting the impossible challenge of replacing him from a bench with no centre-backs on it.
It was inevitable, still, that both managers would turn to their substitutes before long as the match cried out for a piece of magic. Pearson went first, ending De Laet’s afternoon and sending Lloyd Dyer into the fray, as Leeds peppered Schmeichel’s box with crosses which failed to pick out gold shirts.
Anthony Knockaert followed from Leicester’s bench soon after. McDermott followed suit and gave Dominic Poleon the last 25 minutes.
The pressure came predominantly from Leeds but Nugent and Jamie Vardy both threatened Kenny. Vardy drew one low parry from the keeper with a deflected shot and hacked a lob into the crowd as he chased a through-ball into United’s box. He became Pearson’s last throw of the dice, replaced by Chris Wood.
Wood it was who almost broke the deadlock with nine minutes left when his surging run past Pearce ended with a shot which beat Kenny all ends up and shook the foot of his left-hand post. Leicester paid £1.25m for the striker’s power and precision and are well-quoted by the bookmakers on the basis of consistent investment.
Matt Smith, who joined Leeds on a free transfer in June, almost snatched the points in injury-time when Schmeichel touched his header into the side-netting.
As with Brighton last weekend, Leeds did not fail to cope in Leicester’s company. McDermott can draw confidence from that.