Leicester 2 - 1 West Ham
Andy King hands Leicester City deserved victory over West Ham United
Esteban Cambiasso 12
Andy King 86
Cheikhou Kouyate 32
Andy King celebrates scoring for Leicester's against West Ham in the Premier League match
At long, long last, a Leicester City fighting performance has been rewarded with a win, reviving the Foxes’ fading hopes of avoiding relegation.
Barely five minutes remained of a flawed but frantically entertaining encounter when the substitute Andy King, a Leicester stalwart if ever there was one, was in the right place at the right time to turn the ball past the Hammers goalkeeper Adrián from inside the six-yard box.
It was the latest in a series of chances created by both sides in the final quarter, and only a few minutes earlier the Hammers midfielder Cheikhou Kouyaté has rolled a shot against the inside of City goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel’s right-hand post when it looked easier to score.
Nigel Pearson made one change from the side which scored three but conceded four at Spurs in their previous game, and it was a positive one, the injured centre-back Matthew Upson making room for the winger Riyad Mahrez, in what looks like a 4-2-3-1 formation led by Leo Ulloa in attack.
West Ham also made one change from their win over Sunderland, and in their case Sam Allardyce did the opposite, bringing in the cente-half Winston Reid, available again after recovering from a hamstring injury, to replace the wide man Matt Jarvis.
It meant the West Ham manager could move Kouyaté, who has been filling in in defence recently, back into his favoured midfield role. The 6ft 4in Senegalese, bought from Anderlecht for £7m, has been among the Hammers’ stand-out performers this season, having adapted superbly to the Premier League since his move from Anderlecht last summer, and the team has been missing his energy in midfield in recent matches.
Leicester bristled with positivity from the second minute, when Schmeichel’s marvellously accurate clearing kick set Jamie Vardy away down the left. His cut-back gave Ulloa a sight of goal, but from outside the area, the Argentinian shot well over the bar.
Ten minutes later however, Esteban Cambiasso showed his compatriot how to do it. The deflection off James Collins that lead to the ball sitting up nicely for the veteran midfielder may have been fortunate, but the calm volley steered past Adrián from around 20 yards oozed class. It was the first time City had scored in the opening 15 minutes of any home game this season.
It should have been two three minutes later, when Carl Jenkinson brought down Ulloa with a crudely mistimed tackle inside the Hammers penalty area.
David Nugent stepped up, but Adrian dived to his left to push the spot-kick away.
The pace of the game, already frantic, showed few signs of dropping. Leicester were almost playing 4-2-4, so quick were Mahrez and Vardy to break in support of Nugent and Ulloa, but it left plenty of space for West Ham on the counter. Jeff Schlupp cleared off the line from Kevin Nolan, and the West Ham skipper directed another header wide when picked out in the centre of goal by Stewart Downing’s cross.
Gradually, West Ham were getting on top and slightly after the half hour, they deservedly equalised. Schlupp, criminally, allowed Alex Song’s pass the drop over his head on the right of the City penalty area, and Kouyaté, coming in behind him, controlled and shot low and firmly beyond Schmeichel.
Pearson replaced the ineffectual Mahrez with Marc Albrighton at the break, a player whom most City supporters think has been severely underused this season, and once again, City took the early initiative. Reid and James Collins were dealing competently with ball into their area, however, whether high or low, though on the hour Schlupp, breaking clear on the left, sliced his shot wide when he should have at least tested Adrián. Pressure is pressure though, and it was all coming from the home team.
Vardy flashed a header just the wrong side of the post, and then, freed by Nugent in the West Ham penalty area, saw his technique let him down as he attempted to direct his shot inside Adrián’s right-hand post.
It was West Ham who should have taken the lead, when with 20 minutes remaining, Song and Kouyaté combined for Kouyaté to roll a close range shot against Schmeichel’s right-hand post.
Instead it was Leicester who won the game, though not before Reid and Aaron Cresswell had combined to clear Andrej Kramaric’s shot off the line. When King popped up, however, the Hammers defence was finally beaten.
Guardian
