TOWN 1 LEICESTER 1
Wood cancels out Novak’s penalty
Chris Wood spoilt the party for Town as he cancelled out Lee Novak’s opener to earn his side a draw in the Fourth Round of the FA Cup.
The substitute’s equaliser came less than ten minutes after Novak had given Town the lead from the spot after Jack Hunt had been fouled.
Both teams pushed for a winner and Wood thought he had given his side one, but his effort was flagged offside.
Town had the lion’s share of the chances in a frustrating first half encounter for both teams as neither side could manage to get a shot on target. Town’s first chance came from a corner when Anthony Gerrard headed debutant Jordan Sinnott’s ball in to the near post, which Town skipper Peter Clarke headed over.
Town were on the attack again moments later as Scott Arfield touched down a high ball to James Vaughan; the on-loan Norwich man was unable to get a clean touch as he scuffed his effort wide of the mark.
With 20 minutes gone, Leicester had their first chance of the game. As Jack Hunt tried to clear the ball it fell into the path of Martyn Waghorn, who shot wide after turning well.
As the half reached its end, Sinnott was found through on goal by Novak as Town broke away from a Leicester corner. The 18 year-old didn’t have a chance to mark his debut with a goal though, as Leicester captain Wes Morgan knocked the ball out of his reach.
Clayton found Hunt unmarked on the wing with 10 minutes of the second half played. The right-back delivered a low ball across goal into the path of Novak, but Morgan put the ball out for a corner.
Town were causing havoc for the Leicester defence as Vaughan produced the first shot on goal of the game. Novak managed to flick the ball up high for Vaughan who connected with a superb overhead kick which was caught comfortably by Schmeichel.
Town fans roared as Norwood stepped up to take a corner; they then gasped in disappointment as Clarke’s header sailed over the bar once again.
Leicester were beginning to unpick the lock of a tight Town defence as Alex Smithies was forced to make a save. New Zealand International Chris Wood turned and unleashed a shot from the edge of the area forcing Smithies to dive low to push away the danger.
Sean Scannell made an immediate impact as he was brought off the bench in the 65th minute. He sprinted through the Leicester midfield and placed the ball out wide to Hunt who found the head of Novak, but he failed to hit the back of the net with Kasper Schmeichel making a smart save.
Novak redeemed himself in the 70th minute from the spot as Town took the lead. The referee pointed to the spot after Hunt was brought down by Lloyd Dyer and Novak remained cool and composed to slot the ball into the bottom left corner.
In the nervy final stretch, Town could have doubled their lead if it wasn’t for Danny Drinkwater’s boot off the line as Vaughan tried to nod the ball into the bottom corner.
Leicester got the crucial equaliser through Wood in the 82nd minute. Ritchie De Laet’s left wing cross eventually found its way through to the striker who hammered the ball home to level the scorers.
With time ticking away, Gerrard released a shot from 25-yards to try and find a late winner but it did not trouble Leicester custodian Schmeichel.
Town’s Team:
Alex Smithies; Calum Woods, Anthony Gerrard, Peter Clarke (c), Jack Hunt; Oliver Norwood, Scott Arfield, Jordan Sinnott (Sean Scannell, 65), Adam Clayton; James Vaughan, Lee Novak (Alan Lee, 80)
Unused substitutes:
Ian Bennett, Murray Wallace, Duane Holmes, Paul Dixon
Bookings Town: Oliver Norwood 50; Lee Novak 70
Bookings Leicester: Michael Keane 35; Ben Marshall 87
