Roy’s relief as half-time rant revives Palace
LEICESTER’S hopes of moving back to within a point of l eaders Liverpool were foiled by the unlikely combination of a misfiring Kelechi Iheanacho a nd an e nr a g e d Ray Lewington.
Iheanacho missed a penalty as the visitors dominated the first half without reward and Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson credited his si de- kick Lewington f or producing an emphatic reaction in the second half.
Wilfried Zaha volleyed Palace i nto the l ead after a clinical counter-attack and Hodgson’s team were within seven minutes of victory when Harvey Barnes conjured a fabulous equaliser.
Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers said: ‘We should win the game. We had control of the first half with the penalty and other chances we should have put away.’
Iheanacho, selected up front to give Jamie Vardy a breather, was the chief culprit, starting with the penalty awarded for a foul by James Tomkins on Luke Thomas.
Tomkins, on his first start since February, was beaten by the pace of l eft back Thomas, surging forward to nudge the ball away and crash to the turf.
Iheanacho stepped up in search of his first Premier League goal of the campaign but his penalty lacked conviction. ‘He just seemed a bit hesitant,’ said Rodgers. ‘ In practice he scored five out of five, so he was confident.
‘It’s just unfortunate. It’s always difficult when you’re behind one of the world’s best strikers (Vardy), but he’s made an impact in the Europa League and he always shows a positive attitude.’
Iheanacho stuttered i n his run-up and tried to sweep the ball up and over the goalkeeper with his left foot. Vicente Guaita read his intentions, thrusting up a strong hand to make the save.
The Leicester striker missed another wonderful opening before half-time, heading over at the near post from a Dennis Praet cross.
Ayoze Perez also struck the frame of the goal from a deflected cross in the first half, and Praet lashed the rebound over.
Palace offered little. From a corner, Christian Benteke climbed high and headed over — he ought to have done better.
‘We were not at all happy with our first half,’ said Hodgson. ‘ We were dumbfounded by how passive we were. Ray was apoplectic, that’s extremely rare. It was more positive in the second half but it almost cost my assistant a heart attack to produce that energy!’
Zaha rewarded them with the opening goal, finishing a move he started with a break from defence and a pass to Townsend.
Townsend turned inside and picked out Zaha, who continued his run and squeezed a volley between Kasper Schmeichel and the post from a tight angle.
It was the eighth of the season for Zaha, which is twice as many as he scored in the whole of last season. It also gave Palace something to protect and they almost clung on for the three points.
Barnes denied them victory with a terrific goal. He collected a header from Jonny Evans, wriggled clear of a challenge and fired a crisp shot past Guaita from the edge of the penalty area.
It means Palace are without a win in five but at least earned a point after two heavy defeats either side of Christmas with 10 goals conceded and none scored against Liverpool and Aston Villa.
‘It was important to put a stop to an unpleasant run,’ added Hodgson. ‘ This makes us feel better about ourselves.’ CRYSTAL PALACE (4-4-2): Guaita 7; Clyne 6, Tomkins 6, Kouyate 7, Mitchell 6.5; Townsend 7, Milivojevic 6.5, Riedewald 6 (McArthur 74min, 5), Schlupp 6 (J Ayew 84); Benteke 5, Zaha 7. Subs not used: Butland, Ward, Van Aanholt, Sakho, McCarthy, Batshuayi, Eze. Scorer: Zaha 58. Manager: Roy Hodgson 6. LEICESTER (4-2-3-1): Schmeichel 6; JUSTIN 7.5, Amartey 7, Evans 7, Thomas 7; Choudhury 6 (Tielemans 57, 6), Mendy 6.5; Perez 6, Praet 6 (Vardy 66, 6), Barnes 7; Iheanacho 5 (Gray 72, 5). Subs not used: Ward, Soyuncu, Morgan, Albrighton, Ndidi, Fuchs. Scorer: Barnes 83. Booked: Choudhury. Manager: Brendan Rodgers 6. Referee: Graham Scott 6.