Under-23s produce stirring comeback to defeat Foxes

It was a strange but welcomed case of déjà vu for our Under-23s on Monday night as, for the second season in a row, they produced a thrilling comeback to claim all three points away at Leicester.

Back in April, our Development Squad fell behind in the third minute at Leicester City’s training ground but ultimately rallied back to win 3-1. Fast forward seven months and they managed to repeat the feat – and even went one better.

Just like in the April encounter, we trailed with just three minutes on the clock as Tawanda Maswanhise lashed in from close range however, after Malachi Fagan-Walcott brought us level on 36 minutes, the game looked to be heading in only one direction. Harvey White soon had us in front as he emphatically dispatched a free-kick four minutes before the break and, after the restart, we made sure of the points as Tobi Omole guided home our third on 53 minutes with White adding his second and our fourth prior to the hour mark. In injury time, Thimothee Lo-Tutala was then called upon to deny Kasey McAteer from the penalty spot and keep our three-goal advantage as we extended our unbeaten run in the league to four games.

The hosts made life difficult for us from the off as their high press forced us into early errors. With that intensity, they took the lead with just three minutes on the clock as Maswanhise fired viciously into the roof of the net from inside the box. The forward could have then doubled his and Leicester’s tally seven minutes later, but his curling drive drifted wide of the right upright.

Those were two of four attempts for the Foxes in what had been a rough opening 10 minutes for us, but we started to grow into the game soon after and perhaps should have been awarded a penalty on 12 minutes as Dilan Markanday appeared to be clipped as he burst into the box. Kallum Cesay then had our first shot in anger, one that was blocked and cleared for a corner.

Ultimately, it took us 31 minutes to register our first effort on target however, once White had tested goalkeeper Brad Young from range, our momentum began to build from there and five minutes later, we were back level. From a corner whipped in from the right, the ball fell to Jack Clarke, whose miscued volley landed at the feet of Markanday. The attacking midfielder – who won October’s Premier League 2 Player of the Month award – then swiftly drilled it across the six-yard box where Fagan-Walcott was waiting to apply the finishing touch. And soon, we had the lead. Again, Markanday was the creative spark behind the goal as his quick feet saw him wriggle through the Leicester defence before he was clipped on the edge of the box. Awarded the free-kick with four minutes of the half remaining, White then stepped up and whipped it spectacularly into the top-right hand corner of the goal with the ball crashing off the underside of the bar as it went in.

Looking to restore parity, our hosts were quick to get on the front foot after the restart and they certainly created enough chances to do just that with Madivadua, Thanawat Suengchitthawon and Lewis Brunt all managing to get off shots in the box. However, having dealt with those brief forays of the Foxes, we quickly hit them on the counter and managed to find our third. White turned creator as he lifted a looping cross into the box from the right, the goalkeeper came to clear but came out second best in a battle with Fagan-Walcott and the ball fell kindly for his fellow centre-half Omole, who had the simple task of tucking the ball home into an empty net.

It was down the right where we were enjoying plenty of freedom and, as we added number four on 58 minutes, the build-up once again came down that flank. Markanday was the architect as he powered all the way down to  the by-line. Once there, he then had the composure to first beat his man before picking out the unmarked White in the middle of the box, who finished fiercely. We were in complete control and could have gone on to extend our lead further with Romaine Mundle, Nile John, Fagan-Walcott and Omole all going close as we moved into the final 20 minutes. While we were showing our dominance though, the hosts were still proving dangerous, and we had to be thankful for the reflexes of Lo-Tutala on 76 minutes as he tipped over a stern volley.

The evening’s icing on the cake would have been White going on to secure his hat-trick, and on 85 minutes, it looked for a brief second that he had done just that, only for him to be adjudged offside as the ball hit the back of the net. With the open nature of the game, opportunities like that continued to come for both sides as the full-time whistle approached - Leicester enjoying the best of those as they were awarded a penalty in injury time. Lo-Tutala had rushed out to challenge Ethan Fitzhugh as the winger sprung clear of our defence but, after the two made contact in the box, the referee pointed to the spot. Kasey McAteer stepped up to take the penalty but our France youth international stopper was a match for the effort, diving to his right to smother the strike.

‘We played with a real air of authority’

Despite early difficulties in Leicester, Under-23s Coach Wayne Burnett was delighted with his side’s response to falling behind and, ultimately, the control and consistency they are beginning to show in games.

“It was a very disappointing first five minutes,” he said. “It took us 15 or 20 minutes to get some semblance of our identity and the team that we are. After that period though, I thought we were in control. We scored four goals and probably could have scored one or two more – our fourth goal being a very good team goal; the timing of it was excellent and the way we moved the ball from back to front was very good.

“All credit goes to the players because, after the first 15 minutes, they’ve shown a real work ethic and a real consistency in their play. It’s disappointing that we haven’t kept a clean sheet, but I’m really pleased to win so convincingly at what is a hard place to go. I think, across the last four games, we have played really well. The pleasing thing is that we’re starting to do that consistently. We played with a real air of authority. There were some really good individual performances but also there was a good team effort.”

Match data

Goals: Leicester – Maswanhise 3; Spurs – Fagan-Walcott 37, White 41, 58, Omole 53.

Yellow cards: Spurs – Mundle 76.

Referee: Thomas Parsons.

Venue: Leicester City Training Ground.

Weather: Clear skies, two degrees.