FOXES STEAL A DIZZY EPIC
Sherwood left with ‘worst feeling ever’
IT IS rather apt that physio Dave Rennie was required to inform Leicester City’s goalscorer of his decisive contribution in this brilliantly bonkers game.
Nathan Dyer, dizzy from a heavy collision with Brad Guzan sustained while applying a telling forehead touch, epitomised the fighting character of his team, their refusal to accept when odds are stacked against them.
Dyer is 5ft 5in, but somehow managed to beat Micah Richards and Guzan to a lofted ball forward by the marvellous Riyad Mahrez and loop it over the line.
He lay dazed on the floor for a minute or so in the aftermath, but roused to realise his debut after a deadline- day loan switch from Swansea had ended in dream fashion. He was brave, he was committed. He will fit right in at Leicester.
The goal completed a comeback few would have predicted. But, r eally, what else should be expected from a team who never know when they are beaten?
Two goals down with 20 minutes to go, they used all their guts and creativity to claw three points from the grasp of an Aston Villa side honing in on victory.
Tim Sherwood rightly criticised his players for failing to stem the tide, but Leicester do create some pretty big waves t hat have drowned many other sides.
They are a group still high on life after their remarkable escape from relegation l ast season. Those months at the foot of the table seem a distant memory now. Leicester have taken 33 points from a possible 42 since April 4 and remain unbeaten this season, playing bold, attacking football throughout. Second place in the league is deservedly theirs.
Jamie Vardy is simply relentless and Mahrez sheer quality, the £350,000 fee paid for his signature increasingly minuscule. At one point in the first half the Algerian sent three players to the ground with one dazzling dragback.
Nigel Pearson lays claim to much of this but Claudio Ranieri is gradually proving his shock appointment in the summer is not the mistake it perhaps seemed. The 63-year-old conducts himself with great dignity and made the right substitutions here to affect the f l ow of the game. He wasted no time sending on Dyer at the interval and Leicester’s second-half display was much improved.
‘The physio treating me told me I scored, ’ revealed Dyer afterwards.
‘I didn’t know beforehand. It was a nice feeling. I was just dazed — it was easy to get back up. It’s a joy to play for a team like this.’
It had appeared as if the story would be all about a superb first senior goal by Jack Grealish. The Villa forward, 20 last Thursday, gave himself the best birthday gift by curling in a classy strike to open the scoring.
But his joy at scoring for the club he has supported since the age of four turned to agony after Dyer’s strike — Grealish sinking to his knees in that moment.
Sherwood claimed the defeat plunged him to depths never before experienced in his career, saying: ‘I’ve never felt this bad. Ever. There was a lot of bad play there in the last half hour. We turned it over stupidly.
‘What can I say? I’m gutted for everyone who’s associated with the football club. We have to stop letting in soft goals. Who cares if we played well? We lost. Totally lost.’
Sherwood may have been utterly disconsolate, but for an hour of this match Villa purred like he has hoped since he walked in the door. The defence, marshalled by Joleon Lescott, seemed solid and there was fluency in attack.
They created a great opening in the eighth minute but Gabby Agbonlahor’s cross was a little too far ahead of Scott Sinclair, who stretched but shot just wide from two yards. In the 24th minute Carles Gil crafted a chance for Grealish, who should have done better than steer a finish straight at Kasper Schmeichel.
In the 63rd minute Villa went 2-0 up through a stunning hit by Gil. The Spaniard connected with Agbonlahor’s pullback with a left foot shot from distance that bent wickedly into the top corner.
But Leicester are made of stern stuff. And they got the reward for their never-day-die attitude with Dyer’s late winner.