|
It's a measure of Clarets progress this season, that teams such as Leicester should now be beaten, yet given the bare bones nature of the squad available, with Akinbiyi, Roche and Camara all suspended and Grant injured, it was with kids & Co filling the bench that Steve Cotterill's team gained another point in the quest towards the safety target of fifty points, yet there was still a sense of disappointment, that after three successive defeats, Leicester were allowed a point themselves.
This was a very poor looking Leicester side and one, who on this showing, could easily find themselves in the end of season dog fight.
It should have been all so different in only the second minute, but Ian Moore squandered Clarets clearest chance of the night. Put clean through by Valois, Moore had thirty yards to compose himself, yet failed to do so and allowed Walker to smother the ball at the edge of the area, instead of having to collect the ball from his net.
The game settled and Jensen was rarely needed in a first half devoid of excitement, though the big Dane did feel the need to push a ball around his left post to safety on five minutes. The in swung corner gave Leicester a free header from the corner as for once, Clarets stood and watched at the back.
For the Clarets, Frank Sinclair tried to show the strikers the way forwards against his former team and two headers from corners were sent narrowly wide midway through the half.
The infuriating Connolly looking yards offside was allowed to play on and thankfully his attempted lob fell kindly to Jensen in a rare breakaway for the visitors.
The half was poor in quality with neither side capable of constructing a decent move. With neither Valois nor Oster in sparkling form for the home side, there lacked a creative edge to the Clarets who were playing a twin striker option, Branch supporting Moore as the spearheads to the team, an option which did create chances, but both squandered and were very guilty when those chances arose.
Connolly was again close to a low cross as Leicester broke quickly, before Branch was guilty of selfish play when refusing to lay the ball off with half time approaching.
Cahill suffered an injury straining to block a curled Connolly effort and with Sinclair picking up his eighty fifth booking of the season, this time for a high kick on Maybury, the half finally came to a subdued close as two very clean 'keepers left the field.
HT 0-0.
|
Branch headed over in the early stages, yet it was Jensen who was the first of the 'keepers brought into real action when parrying Williams’ shot around the post after a rare passage of neat interplay.
From the corner a quick release by Jensen was superbly controlled on the edge of the Leicester area by Valois who then passed inside to Branch who, with a clear sight of goal, then put a dreadful shot wide of goal from fifteen yards.
As Clarets took the game to their visitors Oster tried an ambitious shot at Walker before Wright made way for De Vries, Levein having the luxury of subs, but it was still the Clarets with the balance of the play.
Cotterill needed a walk of frustration all around his technical area as Branch continued his night of anguish, this time taking an unnecessary touch when put clear on the edge of the area, the touch enabling his shot to be smothered as another guilt edge change went begging.
Kenton's blatant dive went unpunished as Leicester's desperation began to show, before Moore lobbed the ball over Walker after winning the race to a through ball, but before he was able to finish, the loose ball was cleared as Clarets then enjoyed their best spell of the game.
Oster's debut home goal so nearly came when his delightfully curled shot from the point of the area came back off the inside of Walker's far post, the 'keeper stranded, then Leicester had their best chance of the game and Williams should have done much better than toe poke to Jensen from fifteen yards after neat play from Gillespie created the chance.
Having recovered from his first half injury Cahill went on a run up field only to be upended by Connolly, booked and subbed for his efforts, his replacement Nalis failing to feature in the remaining quarter hour, though the visitors did sense a chance of the three points in the final stages of the game.
McGreal had different ideas and sturdy tackles came to the rescue when needed. With the standard three minutes of injury time upon us, Branch had his moment of glory, yet, from Duff's great cross to the far post, he could only head the ball into the ground and then over the bar from four yards, the finish summing up his and everyone else's night. So near and yet so far, a sense of this season to date.
FT 0-0.
Att 10,933
Sour Grapes
We might have a new pitch, well we currently have three looking at the various strips of old and new turf. But at least on the old boggy stuff we scored. That Clarets have not scored a home League goal this year and are currently the Championship’s most shot shy team does not bode well for the forthcoming campaign for our season ticket funds. The bigger picture is fine to some, some however just want entertaining, something this game was not.
A Fine Claret
Micah Hyde. Though his name is hardly mentioned, his form of late has been exceptional. On a night when his counterparts failed to sparkle his was a performance of great effort and support to his strikers and defenders alike. In the absence of Grant he at times doubled his effort to counter a strong looking Leicester midfield.