Leicester City 0-0 Southampton: Saints can’t find the win they desperately need
By Marc Walker
Southampton took at point from the King Power Stadium on Thursday evening in a deeply frustrating draw at a crucial time of the season.
With a win so desperately needed and Leicester not in the best of form themselves, the game was there for the taking for the Saints. However, their spells on top in the contest came and went; much like their Premier League survival hopes seem to be.
Mark Hughes named an unchanged side from the team’s 3-2 loss to Chelsea on Saturday and so kept the 3-4-2-1 system that had been deployed in the last two matches.
In a fairly even opening five minutes, it would be Leicester who created the first meaningful effort on goal. Kelechi Iheanacho’s first shot was blocked but he retained possession well before snapping in a shot that flashed just wide.
Southampton were looking compact in defence but worked their first opening well. Ryan Bertrand’s cross was headed clear to Dusan Tadic on the edge of the area, and the Serbian sent a fizzing half volley wide after connecting well.
Cedric would then have another decent opportunity for the Saints. The right wing-back met a Tadic cross to the back post with a first time volley but couldn’t direct the ball goalwards.
A huge chance was then spurred by Shane Long. He collected the ball from Hojbjerg and had a chance to square to an open Tadic, but completely miss-hit the pass when using the outside of his foot for what seemed a simple pass.
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In the second-half, Saints seemed buoyed on by the fantastic and loud support that the away fans were giving them and Long would have the games best chance by far. A mishit shot by Tadic found the Irish international just in front of Leicester keeper Ben Hamer but he couldn’t force his shot into the net.
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A spell of Leicester pressure came as Southampton became slack in possession, and the dangerous Jamie Vardy almost gave the Foxes the lead. A ball was lofted over the top of the Saints defence and the England forward’s poked effort was tipped over by Alex McCarthy.
Charlie Austin came on for Saints with 15 minutes left to play, but fans will have been baffled by the choice to take Shane Long off in the same substitution when a goal was so desperately needed.
From that point onwards, the team struggled to get out of their own half and suffered with the lack of pace in attack. Waves of Leicester pressure came to no avail for the hosts and the game petered out in a strange, frustrating manner.
They now head into Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final with a slim chance of avoiding the drop but an overriding feeling of what might have been.