The Foxes reached the second round of the League Cup courtesy of a Caleb Okoli header from a Luke Thomas corner in the 15th minute. Very little else was created by either side during a poor first half.
The game improved a little in the second, with Leicester creating a few openings. Stephy Mavividi, in particular, ought to have done better when put clean through on goal only to allow a Northampton defender to get back and thwart him. The home side thought they had extended their lead when, after 75 minutes, Liam Cullen put the ball into the top corner only for the assistant referee to, mysteriously late, flag for offside. Largely through some mistakes passing the ball out from the back, the Foxes almost gifted the Cobblers an undeserved equaliser towards the end.
Youth gets its chance
At the beginning of pre-season, it looked Leicester would have no option to field a team predominantly made up of young players from the academy. Since then, however, a number of signings have added much-needed experience to the Foxes squad. Nevertheless, with Conor Chaplin injured and Tom Watson and Wes Burns only just arrived, there were some openings for youth with Jayden Joseph, Will Alves and Sammy Braybooke all starting.
The performance of the three youngsters was mixed. Joseph was the pick, looking largely assured at the back and operating in an inverted role when the Foxes had the ball. He reminds me of a former City player with the same initials – James Justin – which is no bad thing. Alves and Braybrooke shone in patches but neither really influenced the game to any great extent. It is significant that the level of Leicester’s performance increased when Watson and Burns replaced Alvis and Mavididi halfway through the second half, and it is likely that both will start in the first league match next weekend at Meadow Lane.
Uninspiring
The most that can be said for Leicester’s performance is that they won. Against a limited League Two side, though, the Foxes were unconvincing. Much has been made of Russell Martin’s preference for precise possession-based football and there was certainly evidence of that on Saturday. The Foxes had 77 per cent possession and made 812 passes to their opponent’s 230.
The jury remains out on the utility of Martin's style, however, because - particularly in the first half - the team failed to get the basics right, with passes going astray (Mavididi was the worst culprit here) and a lack of speed and intensity . Accurate passing and intensity are necessary whatever the style of football being played.
Above all, perhaps, the lack of a genuine striker in City’s ranks is the biggest weakness. Whatever else he is, Bobby DeCordova Reid is not a central striker. The predicted arrival of Bosnian forward Admir Bristrić cannot come soon enough, although there is no guarantee, of course, that he will prove to be the answer to Leicester’s goalscoring problem.
Add us as a preferred source on Google