Summary
- Young Eagles battled to another pre-season win on a windy day in Leicestershire.
- Trialist drives home the opener after 15 minutes.
- Street converts from the spot after Leicester were reduced to ten men.
- HT: Leicester City U23s 0-2 Palace U23s
- Leicester settled quickly after the break, starting the stronger if the two teams.
- The hosts pulled one back through Wakeling after 70 minutes.
- Palace won a second penalty of the game as Street was fouled, but the striker saw his penalty saved.
- Despite the man disadvantage, The Foxes saw a lot of possession in the final exchanges.
- Young Eagles held on, defending resolutely in the second half.
- FT: Leicester City u23s 1-2 Palace U23s
Both teams deployed a high press early on, as they looked to win the ball high up the pitch.
Leicester enjoyed the majority of possession in the opening exchanges with neither team having a chance of note.
Rob Street then held the ball up well in midfield and drove towards goal before being taken down on the edge of the box, but Nya Kirby’s free kick was easily saved.
The opening goal did then come for the young eagles after a quarter of an hour when Street’s deflected shot fell to a trialist who fired into the bottom corner.
Leicester had a chance of their own direct from the restart when Leshabela twisted and turned before firing his effort over the bar.
The Foxes then had an edge of the box free-kick of their own but the whipped effort was superbly saved by Joe Whitworth in the Palace goal. The hosts had another effort on goal as they started to grow into the game, but Whitworth was well positioned to claim the tame effort from outside the box.
The Young Eagles had the ball in the back of the net once again, when Street stretched at the back post to divert Robertson’s cross, only to be thwarted by the linesman’s offside flag.
Palace were then awarded a penalty after half an hour when David Omilabu was elbowed at a corner, resulting in a red card for Leicester’s Clark. Street stepped up and sent the goalkeeper the wrong way to double the lead.
Leicester stepped up the intensity towards half-time, a free header from a corner sailing over the bar. The Foxes had another good opportunity before the interval, turning inside the area before fizzing a shot across goal but past the post.
After the break, the hosts started brightly but couldn’t get on the end of a couple of good crosses into the box, with Whitworth claiming well.
Leicester continued to press with Jack Wells-Morrison blocking a goal-bound strike before a free-kick was well struck but never troubling Whitworth’s goal.
Substitutions disrupted the flow of the game, but Leicester were still seeing much of the ball, with the Young Eagles having to stand firm in defence.
Leicester eventually got their goal after winning the ball high up the pitch, Jake Wakeling cutting his shot across Whitworth into the bottom corner.
Palace reacted well after conceding and had the opportunity to regain their two goal advantage from the spot for a second time as Street was fouled. However, Street’s penalty was well-saved and it was cleared to safety by the hosts.
Palace were pinned back in their half for much of the second period, but they defended strongly. That didn’t stop chances sneaking through from Leicester who were on the search for the equaliser, but nothing troubled the visiting ‘keeper.
The hosts had a succession of corners in the final few minutes and saw a lot of the ball but the 10-men couldn’t muster a chance of note. As the game fizzled out, the Young Eagles held firm, restricting the hosts to half chances at the end and kept the ball in the middle of the park well to win the game.
Palace: Whitworth; Boateng, O’Brien, Jach (Baghuelou, 46), Adaramola; Wells-Morrison, Kirby (Quick,65), Trialist, Omilabu (Imray, 46) Robertson (Steele, 46); Street.