FOXES SHOW THEY CAN BE IN THE HUNT
HAVING missed out on the play-off final in the most dramatic fashion three months ago, Leicester City are clearly determined to make amends this time around.
Nigel Pearson's side conceded a last-minute goal to Watford in May's play-off semi-final.
However, the Foxes’ boss did not feel the need to make radical alterations and, on the evidence of this victory, his faith in his squad looks justified.
Trailing to a first-half own goal from former Boro defender Sean St Ledger, Leicester turned on the style in the second half.
They claimed an opening-day victory thanks to precise finishes from Danny Drinkwater and Jamie Vardy.
With Andy King and Matty James also impressing at the heart of midfield, it was an ideal start for Leicester, who retain the air of promotion candidates, despite signing just one player since the end of last season.
Pearson said: “I didn't feel we were very positive in the first half, but, up until their goal, it wasn't a great game overall.
“Both sides struggled to have any penetration.
“It was a poor goal for us to concede. I didn't feel we worked hard enough, but in the second half we made some brighter decisions when we had the ball.
“Momentum in the Championship can change very, very quickly in games and I think we were worth the win today.
“But, at 1-0 down, it felt a bit precarious for us.
“The squad we currently have is more or less the same as last season, but hopefully we can go one better this year.
“To do that, we have to find a level of consistency.
here was little in Leicester's first-half performance to suggest they would run out winners, with St Ledger's own goal handing Boro a half-time lead that was fully deserved.
Mustapha Carayol crossed from the left, and St Ledger drilled the ball into the corner of his own net under pressure from Lukas Jutkiewicz.
However, the game changed entirely in the second half, with Leicester assuming the upper hand from the off and creating a succession of chances.
They were denied a possible penalty when Dean Whitehead appeared to foul Drinkwater as he was about to shoot, but they did not have to wait long for their equaliser.
Five minutes later, after Jonathan Woodgate failed to ade- quately clear a routine ball into the box, Drinkwater swept home a shot from the edge of the area.
Seven minutes later, Leicester were ahead, with the impressive Vardy finding the corner of the net after a slick one-two with substitute David Nugent. Leicester's victory would have been even more emphatic had Jason Steele not deflected Vardy's 85th-minute shot on to the post.
Boro boss Tony Mowbray said: “We're obviously disappointed not to get the result we wanted at home.
“It was a game that started pretty well for us and we played well in the first half and got our noses in front.
“Yet in the second half we didn't really perform and they stepped on a little bit.
“Maybe the flag should have gone up for their first goal, and we lost a bit of our fluency.
“They pushed on and we cer- tainly made some poor decisions defensively for the second goal which was disappointing.
“We played against a decent side, but we're very disappointed in the end, we did not really perform in the second half.”