Leicester City - 1 (Dickov 76.)
Crystal Palace - 0
Leicester kicked off in this match, and almost the first action saw Tommy Black get kicked in the face for his troubles, a free kick being awarded. Danny Granville took the kick as Tommy was treated, but the ball came back to the other end and Paul Dickov saw his effort charged down by the defence. As the ball fell to Calum Davidson he sent a shot over the top from a long way out. Dele Adebola then got a good through ball to Andy Johnson, but his shot, which he attempted to lob over the keeper, also cleared the top of the goalmouth.
Tommy fired the ball into the centre, but the keeper cut out the danger, and at the opposite end Darren Powell headed the ball clear, following a cross by Muzzy Izzet. On the break Tommy got a cross in that Hayden Mullins nearly got on the end of, but a good tackle by Matt Heath saw the chance go begging. Dickov then centered the ball, and Danny G did well to put it out for a corner before Trevor Benjamin could strike. Cedric Berthelin, keeping due to the unexplained absence of Alex Kolinko, dealt well with the corner, but then Dickov sent a shot once again over the bar.
A couple of fouls against the Palace side followed, but they were unable to take advantage, and the ball then floated into our area, handball being ruled against Izzet. AJ then made a good run, his cross being cut out by the defence and Tommy tried to cut in behind the defenders, just managing to run too far with the ball. Shaun Derry then fired in a cross that AJ put just wide of the stick, and the following move found him ruled offside - it must have been only just.
Half time was rapidly approaching as Leicester won another corner, which was headed over the bar by James Scowcroft, due mainly to pressure being applied by Darren. Hayden really should have scored when he had only the keeper to beat, but somehow, between a mixture of arms and legs, Ian Walker managed to keep the ball out of the back of the net.
Shots from Hayden and Danny G were blocked by the defence before Scowcroft was booked for a tackle on Shaun. A cross into our area was well dealt with by Cedric, as Scowcroft nearly got to the ball first, and right on the half time whistle he did well again to deny Benjamin. The break would have seen Trevor Francis reasonably pleased, but perhaps ruing the fact that the side had been unable to break the deadlock.
Palace got the second half underway, but the first action came at our end, with first Shaun clearing a dangerous ball, then Cedric claiming the returning shot. Handball against Scowcroft was awarded to Palace before Tony Popovic had to rise above the crowd to head the ball to safety.
Hayden sent the ball into the middle where first AJ got a touch on the ball, and Danny Butterfield blasted a shot over the top of the crossbar. A couple of clearances by Cedric kept us in the match, whilst at the other end AJ's cross was headed behind for a corner.
This led to three corners in a row for Palace, but they were unable to take advantage of the situation, and Leicester finally came clear with the ball. Leicester took the opportunity to make a couple of substitutions, with Benjamin and Heath making way for Matthew Jones and Tommy Wright. A corner to Leicester followed, which led to Matt Elliott seeing his shot cleared off the line
Danny G managed to get booked for a tackle on Izzet, then Scowcroft got his head to the ball, but directed it straight at Cedric in goal. Danny B cleared the next forward move by Leicester, and Palace decided to make changes of their own, AJ and Danny G going off for Curtis Fleming and Julian Gray. The lights then went out, literally, but fortunately they came back on soon after, for it might have made for interesting discussion if the game had been decided in the dark.
Tommy got a shot on goal, but the keeper did well to get down low to the ball, before Izzet got booked for a foul on Danny B. Kit Symons got back to clear a dangerous move by the Leicester attack, but Scowcroft broke free, and though the shot was blocked by Cedric there was little he could do to prevent Dickov's follow up, and the ball nestled in the back of the net. 1-0 to the home side, and the way things were going we seemed to have little chance of getting back into the match.
Palace immediately made their final substitution, Danny B going off, and Ade Akinbiyi coming on to a chorus of boos from his previous fans. Scowcroft fired in a shot, but Cedric managed to tip it over the bar. Darren cleared that effort from our area. Ade then appeared to be in position to tap the ball home, but his shot merely connected with mid-air, and the chance went begging. Needless to say the partisan Leicester crowd "cheered" this peculiar effort. Alan Rogers fired a shot over the top, then Hayden saw his shot blocked.
In injury time Leicester made their final change, Gerry Taggart coming on for Dickov, in a simple attempt to wind the clock down, but they really did not have to worry, as the final whistle sounded with little further action. Palace were faced with the trip home with nothing to show for their efforts, and one could really say they were unlucky not to have at least taken a point from the match. The Leicester faithful may well disagree with that statement, but one suspects on this showing that we may well get to meet them in the Premiership next season.
Colin Pryce
Leicester City: Ian Walker, Frank Sinclair, Matt Elliott, Matt Heath (Matthew Jones 57), Alan Rogers, James Scowcroft, Muzzy Izzet, Calum Davidson, Jordan Stewart, Paul Dickov (Gerry Taggart 90), Trevor Benjamin (Tommy Wright 57).
Substitutes not used: Tim Flowers, Nicky Summerbee.
Crystal Palace: Cedric Berthelin, Tony Popovic, Kit Symons, Darren Powell, Danny Butterfield (Ade Akinbiyi 77), Hayden Mullins, Shaun Derry, Danny Granville (Julian Gray 66), Tommy Black, Andrew Johnson (Curtis Fleming 65), Dele Adebola.
Substitutes not used: Lance Cronin, Dougie Freedman.
Attendance: 27,005
Referee: Mr S Mathieson (Cheshire)