City's Youngsters Suffer Late Defeat At West Ham
After three weeks of no action following last month’s Premier League Cup Round of 16 defeat by Burnley, the Foxes line-up in the capital included three changes.
In came Swedish goalkeeper Viktor Johansson, for Max Bramley, while Lamine Kaba Sherif replaced Ed Elewa-Ikpakwu at right back and striker Admiral Muskwe came in for Layton Ndukwu.
West Ham, meanwhile, notably had former England international Jack Wilshere in central midfield, as one of three permitted overage outfield players, after a spell on the sidelines through injury.
The match got off to a decidedly uneventful start with neither side finding the cutting edge required to carve out a genuine opportunity until the 25th minute.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall floated a corner into the box and, at the second attempt, the young midfielder located captain Sam Hughes, whose header was saved at the near post by Nathan Trott.
To compensate for Wilshere’s quality in the middle, Elewa-Ikpakwu was introduced from the bench midway through the first half, replacing Tyrese Shade, and pushing Kaba Sherif into a more advanced role.
While there was plenty of industrious play, the ball got bogged down in a midfield quagmire and Conor Tee was brought on at the interval, replacing striker Ryan Loft.
After the break, City found chances easier to come by and Kaba Sherif was unfortunate not to open the scoring when he broke into the box, but Trott came out to make a low save.
With 15 minutes to go, shortly after Sidnei Tavares took Callum Wright's place on the pitch, the Hammers were awarded a penalty as Dewsbury-Hall was adjudged to have fouled Kemp in the area.
Kemp stepped up himself to take the spot kick, firing it past the grasp of Johansson in the Leicester goal, in front of the Trevor Brooking Stand, and giving the hosts a slender advantage.
The 20-year-old Hammers man went close again minutes later when he dragged a low drive just inches wide of Johansson's near post, but West Ham were nonetheless able to secure victory.
Who impressed?
Set with the task of controlling Jack Wilshere, capped 34 times for England, in the centre of midfield, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall did incredibly well to phase the 27-year-old out of play at times.
While he will be disappointed to have conceded a penalty, Dewsbury-Hall, 20, has quickly become a reliable figure for the Club’s Development Squad and performances like this are why.
Where does it leave us?
City's Under-23s remain in seventh place in Premier League 2, although Manchester City's 4-3 win over leaders Everton mean they are level on 27 points with two games to play.
Coming up…
Another exciting fixture awaits Leicester’s youngsters next Sunday when Liverpool visit King Power Stadium in Premier League 2 for a 1pm BST kick-off.
The details…
City: Johansson, Kaba Sherif, Pascanu, Hughes (c), Thomas, Dewsbury-Hall, Wright (Tavares 70'), Leshabela, Shade (Elewa-Ikpakwu 33’), Muskwe, Loft (Tee 45’)
Subs not used: Davies, Uche Rubio
Images: West Ham United FC