Resilient Leicester draw at Sunderland to secure Premier League survival
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Version 0 of 1. When Nigel Pearson finally ran out of players to embrace and visiting fans to applaud, Leicester City’s manager turned on his heel before walking slowly towards the tunnel. As he stepped off the pitch, Pearson paused for a moment and blew out his cheeks. Lazarus had nothing on these Foxes and their coach who, back in February, was widely, if erroneously, reported as having been sacked. At the time Leicester looked to be sinking without trace and once oh-so complacent Sunderland were among those who dismissed the notion that an extraordinary renaissance could be about to unfold at the King Power Stadium. Related: Queens Park Rangers 2-1 Newcastle United | Premier League match report Three months on, the Wearsiders’ failure to win here excluded Dick Advocaat’s team from the sense of utter relief enveloping their guests. It also left them either requiring a point from their two remaining games at Arsenal and Chelsea or trusting that Hull fail to beat Manchester United at the KC Stadium next Sunday. “I’m not going to flower over it, I was relieved,” said Pearson whose side have collected 19 points from their last eight games. “At the final whistle I thought ‘Thank God for that’. Let’s face it, there’ve been low points this season. It’s difficult for newly promoted sides to establish themselves in the Premier League but this run has been singular. The important thing now is to enjoy the moment.” Clearly deciding that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Sunderland emulated Leicester’s recent habit of emerging fast out of the blocks and might have had a penalty within two minutes of the first whistle. When the lively Danny Graham crossed and Connor Wickham collapsed under pressure from Robert Huth, Martin Atkinson had a decision to make but, in rejecting Sunderland’s claims, the referee almost certainly came to the correct conclusion. With the uber-industrious Graham particularly influential up front and Lee Cattermole eclipsing Esteban Cambiasso in the central midfield enforcement stakes, Kasper Schmeichel was the busier keeper. He did particularly well to flick out a hand and repel Sebastian Larsson’s swerving free kick before, later, saving Graham’s volley. The striker had been cleverly cued up by Cattermole but the bad news for Advocaat was that his key midfielder would soon collect a style-cramping booking. Failing to heed a warning from Atkinson after clattering into Riyad Mahrez, Cattermole proceeded to hack down Mark Albrighton with un-seemly vigour and no one was surprised when the referee reached for his yellow card. If their scoring chances were proving strictly rationed, Leicester regularly ruffled Sunderland with their penchant for getting the ball forward quickly and efficiently. Allied to a proficiency at set pieces, these tactics left John O’Shea and company grateful for some lucky deflections as the ball frequently bobbled across area. The biggest early home scare came when Wes Morgan saw his goalbound shot blocked following a corner which had thoroughly confounded Advocaat’s rearguard. Considering that similar bewilderment had broken out before Jamie Vardy had a similar, close range, shot blocked, Pearson had cause for cautious optimism. Sensing the power balance required a little recalibration, Advocaat replaced Liam Briductt with Adam Johnson. Almost immediately Johnson – greeted enthusiastically by a crowd of 46,705 – initiated a lovely passing move which ended with Patrick van Aanholt shooting narrowly wide. Related: Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 Hull City | Premier League match report Johnson subsequently tested Schmeichel’s reflexes with a low shot of his own, unleashed after dodging Camabiasso but Pearson’s five-man defence remained impeccably organised – not to mention as stubbornly obdurate as their manager. Perhaps concerned his trusted “lucky” brown scarf – once again wrapped tightly around his neck – was not about to work its customary magic, Advocaat opted for further intervention, replacing Graham with Steven Fletcher. Within minutes the Scotland striker glancing header was directed fractionally wide. The Sunderland manager’s disappointment will be tempered by the knowledge that Cattermole was subsequently fortunate to escape a second yellow card but this was most definitely not Advocaat’s ideal result. “We’ll know next week whether it was a good point or a bad point,” he said. “But I cannot complain, I cannot ask more of my players. Everything is still in our hands. Why can’t we get a point at Arsenal or Chelsea?” |