FAN REPORT – Son Shines For Spurs

Our man at the match again was Scott Davies, who brings you this Fan Report…

The final part of the 10 day trilogy came to an end at the KP on Wednesday as Spurs visited Leicester in the 3rd reply after they were fortunate to tie the match with a dubious penalty in the final minute at White Heart Lane.

City made a number of changes once again with youngsters Chilwell and Gray making their full home debuts. A late injury to De Laet meant Simpson retained his spot at RB and only Schmeichel and Drinkwater were the other familiar faces as Ranieri opted to give the fringe players some more game time.

Some have questioned Ranieri and his desire to go far in the FA Cup, but how else does he give game time to others and also bring the youth through?

Spurs looked comfortable in the first period and only Inler gave Spurs ‘keeper Vorm something to think about on 27 with a curling free kick which didn’t really trouble the Lilywhites stopper who gathered it under the crossbar.

Spurs went ahead on 38 as the impressive Son found space at the right hand edge of the box and he drilled a 20 yard shot past Schmeichel who will be disappointed to have been beaten at his near post. Replays showed the back four were a little flat and narrow which gave Son the time to set up his shot and the Foxes rearguard were punished as a result.

Ulloa was isolated on his own up front and really is not quick enough to play as a lone striker. He did carve out a decent chance before the half was out, curling a 20 yard shot just over, hitting the stanchion behind the goal. City went in 1-0 down at the break.

Shinji Okazaki replaced Drinkwater at half time to partner Ulloa up top and they reverted to a 442.

Gray was impressive throughout and looks full of confidence as does Chilwell. Gray had a decent chance on 52 as he curled a shot goalwards with Vorm diving full stretch to palm away the effort from the former Birmingham City starlet.

As City were turning the screw a little more, Spurs brought on Harry Kane to a chorus of boos from the City fans. He replaced Lamela to add some more attacking prowess as Spurs seemed to want the game more than their counterparts.

Marc Albrighton came on for Danny Simpson on 62, however 3 minutes later City were caught napping and Chadli put Tottenham 2 up and the match was pretty much out of sight for the Foxes.

The biggest cheer of the night for City came when Vardy entered the fold on 73. It was a little bit over the top in all honesty and did nothing but heap pressure on him. It seemed like a bit of an ironic cheer aimed at Ranieri, but he’s damned if he does and damned if he don’t. I personally would have not brought Vardy on at all as the game was gone, but CR would have been criticised if he hadn’t.

City continued to fight and try to get a consolation goal which is a great sign of our spirit. Albrighton was unlucky in the last minute as Vorm once again pulled off a decent save and Kasper Schmeichel came up for a corner in a further attempt to give the fans something to cheer about. Ulloa also went close on 90 with a header which was tipped over by Vorm. The resulting corner was the last kick of the game and Spurs meet Colchester in the 4th round live on BT Sport on 30th January.

I thought Benalouane, Wasilewski and Ulloa struggled throughout. The latter proving that City need another striker to challenge Vardy and Okazaki, however some positives came out of the game with Chilwell, Gray and Inler all giving a good account of themselves.

We have 16 games left to seal a top 4 finish whereas Spurs have a potential 32 games depending on how far they go in the FA Cup and the Europa League. Others around us have European cup competitions coming up which may also benefit City during the run in.

Man of the Match – Ben Chilwell

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