Vardy & Albrighton On Target In Cheltenham Win
Having defeated Scunthorpe United on Tuesday, the Foxes contested a second pre-season fixture in the space of five days, with 22 players notching up minutes in Gloucestershire as preparations for the new campaign continue.
An early opportunity for Kelechi Iheanacho saw the Nigeria international striker hit the crossbar with a powerful header, but Luke Varney was on target at the other end to put Cheltenham 1-0 up on 16 minutes.
Captain Wes Morgan then headed over and saw a half-volley saved by goalkeeper Scott Flinders, while George Thomas was dispossessed in the area by Charlie Raglan just before the attacker could get his shot off.
Manager Brendan Rodgers made nine changes at the break, with shot-stopper Danny Ward the only man to remain from the first-half starting XI, while Callum Elder made way for Christian Fuchs just before half-time.
The introduction of striker Vardy proved to be crucial to the overall result. First, the City No.9 had an effort saved by Flinders, but after some good work from Youri Tielemans, Vardy found the bottom corner with a neat finish on 68 minutes.
Just seven minutes later, the Foxes took the lead through Albrighton. Papy Mendy’s well-weighted pass found the winger, who rounded Flinders before firing in from an angle in front of the travelling Blue Army.
Albrighton’s strike proved to be enough for City to seal their second-consecutive pre-season win ahead of Tuesday’s trip to Cambridge United.
Major moment
After Cheltenham had repelled much of the City attack in the first period, Jamie Vardy’s leveller provided the foundations for his side to go on and win the game.
They did exactly that, too, as Marc Albrighton was on target shortly after to score the winner for the Foxes.
Who impressed?
Speaking during LCFC TV’s live coverage of the fixture, Steve Guppy said: “Both Youri Tielemans and Jamie Vardy did well. Jamie Vardy’s movement is always a handful, and the performances of Marc Albrighton, Ricardo Pereira and Christian Fuchs were positive too.
“I thought James Justin showed some promising signs over on the far side where he was linking up with his team-mates. I think all round, everyone did their job and they were thoroughly professional.”
Coming up…
Leicester City’s third match of their pre-season schedule takes place on Tuesday night, when Brendan Rodgers’ men head to Abbey Stadium to face Cambridge United (7:30pm BST kick-off).
Supporters can watch live coverage of the game on LCFC TV from 7pm BST, with commentary coming from Chris Parrott and Matt Elliott.