Leicester Home Lost 2 – 3
There were recalls for Aribo and Archer to face Leicester while Manning retained his place and Dibling stayed out wide. That left an unlikely pairing of Walker-Peters and Manning providing the attacking threat down the other wing – they enjoyed success there too, teaming up to provide Archer with an 8th minute opening goal. The second goal came from a similar source but this time Walker-Peters was the sole provider, crossing for Aribo to touch home just as Archer had done; it might even have been a second for Aribo as he had headed a very early corner against the bar. A position of some authority then, but the visitors were looking the more accomplished side and El Khannouss struck the post as Southampton struggled to preserve the healthy lead until the break. After the interval, though, things were going on quite nicely as Saints applied some control for the first time and came close to adding to their total courtesy of Foxes defender Faas who somehow forced a brilliant save out of his own goalkeeper. The decisive moment in the game came just after the hour when Vardy, as he is wont, left something in a tackle on Sugawara that led to the Japanese limping out of the game and Albert Steptoe receiving a yellow card, which perhaps might have been of the orange variety of there were such a thing. On came Fraser, with Saints moving to an orthodox back four as Walker-Peters switched flanks; we could have kept our shape the same by introducing Taylor instead, and in retrospect that’s what should have happened as Leicester had already brought on Fatawu to take on Manning and, now, Fraser. Fatawu scored three against Saints last time out and he was now to contribute three sort-of assists as well as firing a shot against the bar. First the winger went past Fraser to pull the ball back to Buonanotte and that was goodnight to a two goal lead. Then Ramsdale saved brilliantly from Fatawu and Manning somehow completed he clearance. Alas Vardy was in the vicinity as well and would probably have scored had his shirt not been held by Fraser. You can’t do that in the land of VAR: red card for Fraser, penalty for Leicester, goal for Vardy. Taylor now came on and in the last seconds of added time he at least stopped Fatawu getting to the by-line, but at the expense of a corner. The match referee was Mr. Anthony Taylor, formerly one of the best but now inclined to view himself as a celebrity official, as seen by his ability to make up rules in his explanation of why he denied substitute Onuachu a penalty at the other end. And it was celebrity Taylor who somehow found even more time to allow that final corner to be taken. Southampton have a habit of marking everyone waiting for a cross at the expense of ignoring those lurking on the edge of the box; the visitors had spotted this, Winks picked out Ayew and unsighted Ramsdale went too late to get a more decisive touch. The nightmare continues.
Three LSSC Man of the Match candidates to choose from:
2. Kyle Walker-Peters. Good attacking, good defending.
6. Taylor Harwood-Bellis. Good defending.
7. Joe Aribo. Good goal – might have been two.
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