Leicester-Watford [R]

Discussion in 'Leicester City' started by saabrian, Aug 11, 2002.

  1. saabrian

    saabrian Member

    Mar 25, 2002
    Upstate NY
    Club:
    Leicester City FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Leicester 2 [Deane 47', 55']
    Watford 0

    I listened to the match on real audio via the World Service. Unfortunately, I missed both goals as Five Live cut to athletics during the first one and the second one occurred when I stepped away from my computer for 30 seconds to let my dog inside.

    The first half sounded rather drab but City seemed to pick it up after the break and controlled the second stanza. Watford's keeper made several excellent saves to keep the score respectable (unlike the Millwall match). It was certainly good to see (er, hear) City putting together a nice offensive performance after last year's disaster.

    In any case, it was a good result for Leicester. They need to get as many points as they can before they lose all their best players.
     
  2. Bird

    Bird Member

    Sep 16, 2000
    San Mateo, California
    I made it to the match (my first one) and had a great time. The crowd was awesome and the new stadium is beautiful. 31+K showed up -- nearly a sellout.

    The first half was horrible to watch. Both teams started tentatively. LCFC had the better of the possession in general, but couldn't put together a decent attack in the final third. Much of the Foxes' offensive play featured (1) poor combinations into a scrum on the right side or (2) aimless long balls out of the back to Dean in the center (who lost most to the Watford central defense). Rogers spent most of the half wide open on the left (no one within 30 yards of him). The rest of the team finally discovered him at 36' and started switching the ball and he rewarded them by creating two or three dangerous attacks to finish the half.

    Watford was pretty well organized in the back third during the half, but were generally horrible in midfield. They had the better scoring chances in the half by pushing two forwards hard into the goal box (near post and far post) and serving diagonal balls into them from the wings. Elliott went off midway through the half with "the runs" and Sinclair came in and played well. He looked out of position on several occasions, but always used speed and jumping ability to recover with authority.

    Clearly Adams read the team the riot act in the second half. They stopped serving long balls up the middle and played possession football instead and it immediately paid dividends.

    The first goal came on a world class run by Izzet up the right side. He split two defenders about 22 yards from the end line, brought the ball into the corner, turned the corner around a third defender, did an amazing hesitation and "dead leg" move to freeze another two defenders and then laid the ball back (I thought it was Summerbee, but some have said it was Marshall), who was traling and one-timed it in to Deane on the back post for a strong header.

    The second goal came on a counterattack down the left. Scowcroft brought the ball down towards the corner, turned in at about the top of the penalty box, hesitated to draw the nearest central defender, and then hit a knee-high chip in perfectly behind the defense to about the midpoint behind penalty spot and the six, where Dean slipped behind his marker and one-timed it into the net.

    Ultimately, the Foxes could have probably punched in another two or even three, but Chamberlain was playing out of his mind and touched several good shots over the bar and around the posts.

    My MOTM would probably be Sinclair, although Izzet played well and Deano managed a brace. Muzzy, for all of his skill and explosiveness, disappeared for several stretches and didn't really impose himself on the game despite having acres of space in midfield and all kinds of passing options across the width. Deano did very little as a target in the first half, but, to his credit, finished clinically when he needed to in the second. Dickov also hustled and made a real pest of himself throughout.

    It was a great debut in the new stadium. Watford probably isn't going to do much this season, but if LCFC manages to find a way to hold onto Muzzy and continues to play possession-oriented attacking football, it should be in the running for promotion.
     
  3. JoBeck

    JoBeck New Member

    Jul 24, 2000
    Wesschessduh
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    It's a good bet that if the team is healthy, Micky Adams is going to keep the team playing attack-minded football. I'm optimistic that the team has a real chance to win promotion, and the result on Saturday is good enough. We'll see what happens with the finances, and if guys like Izzett, Elliott, and Marshall (even though Izzett's a little overrated, Elliott's getting a little old, and Marshall isn't outstanding) head off... but for now, they've got a bunch of guys who really want to play hard this season (two who aren't even getting paid right now!) and that's always good to see.

    Glad you had a good time at the match, Bird.

    saabrian, how is the LC World service? I was a bit skeptical about its worth, but now that this is the only way to listen to the games, I just might have to pay.

    @ Stoke City Wednesday
     
  4. saabrian

    saabrian Member

    Mar 25, 2002
    Upstate NY
    Club:
    Leicester City FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Jo, actually I didn't listen to it there. It was on 5 Live via the BBC World Service's website. I was actually surprised because usually when I've tried to listen to it in the past, it's been blocked for rights' reasons.

    On match days, I may have to resort to listening to the real audio service of City's opponent, where possible. I too am dubious about shelling that much money to listen to the radio 2 hours a week.
     
  5. saabrian

    saabrian Member

    Mar 25, 2002
    Upstate NY
    Club:
    Leicester City FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Hudson Valley

    Jo, btw, how did a Hudson Valleyer like yourself come to like the Foxes?

    I'm less bullish on promotion than you. With the players we have, I'd think we're favorites, but we're not going to have them for long. If we're able to get a good start and gain confidence before they leave, on the other hand, then we might have a good shot.

    --
    Antonio's Pizza: 2002 Adirondack Amateur Soccer League Champions
     
  6. JoBeck

    JoBeck New Member

    Jul 24, 2000
    Wesschessduh
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I wish I'd have found out that the Leicester game was on Radio 5 Live... good job finding the watford game online. I tried the Watford site to try to get a live audio webcast, but they use NTL too and have "Watford World", so no luck there.

    I started following Leicester City in 1998, when "English Premier League" was on Fox Sports Net. I paid closer attention to Leicester's results because Kasey Keller was their starting keeper and I gradually became a fan of the club.

    Even if the team does lose several of its core players, Micky Adams will still have his team playing to score goalsand they could have a successful season. For now, though, they need to get all the points they can while they still have guys like Elliott and Izzet.
     
  7. JoBeck

    JoBeck New Member

    Jul 24, 2000
    Wesschessduh
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    One thing I forgot to add, however, is that Leicester City will need a little luck on their side in order to win promotion. Right now, they already have a thin squad and clubs are scrambling to make signings before the transfer window closes. Leicester can lose several players very quickly. Also, by the time the transfer window re-opens for a few weeks in the winter, Leicester still may not have enough money to add to the squad.
     
  8. Bird

    Bird Member

    Sep 16, 2000
    San Mateo, California
    Thanks, hopefully I'll be back in the area for another one soon.

    Well, one thing's for certain -- if Adams keeps 'em playing attractive football and the fans from the Midlands continue to turn out en masse, it'll go a long way towards solving the near-term wage bill problem. Hopefully, this was the first of many 31+K near-sellouts in "Filbert Way" (calling it Filbert Street just doesn't seem right and no stadium for a team in the promotion race should be named after a crisp). ;)
     

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