Eppiah Sends City's Under-23s To Victory At Brighton

There were four changes for City from the 2-1 Leasing.com Trophy success at Tranmere Rovers, their 11th win in 12, with Matty James coming in for George Thomas.

The 22-year-old recently signed for Eredivisie side ADO Den Haag on loan until the end of the 2019/20 campaign, while striker Raúl Uche joined Real Valladolid on a permanent deal.

For the Seagulls, meanwhile, experienced midfielder Solly March started the clash, which was set among the backdrop of torrential rain on the South Coast.

After just 10 minutes, the young Foxes were in front as Eppiah seized on a loose pass from Tudor Băluță back to Tom McGill before rounding the ‘keeper and finishing well.

James, on the other hand, almost made it two for Leicester within seconds of the restart, arrowing an ambitious effort narrowly wide of the far post from 20 yards out.

With 25 minutes on the clock, Calvin Ughelumba did exceptionally well to win the ball in the middle and release Ali Reghba in attack, but the Irishman’s finish was high and wide.

After a prolonged half-time break, largely due to the conditions, Reghba almost scored a stunning second for Leicester with a curler from distance, but McGill got across goal to save.

On the hour-mark, Foxes shot-stopper Viktor Johansson had to race off his line and deal with the danger when Lorent Tolaj ran clear. The Swede, though, made an assured stop.

As the clock ticked down, the conditions began to have a more prominent effect on proceedings as the ball become logged in a midfield quagmire for long spells. 

In the last 10 minutes, on the other hand, Johansson had to make another smart stop to get down to a low effort from substitute Ted Jenks as City tried to hold out for the points.

Late on, Khanya Leshabela broke from a Seagulls corner, finding Tyrese Shade on the flank, but he could only force McGill into a save before Admiral Muskwe's effort was also saved.

Elsewhere, in the last seconds, Bojan Radulovic was also denied by Johansson at the other end and he was there again to save in sensational fashion from Warren O'Hara with almost the last kick of the game to give Leicester's youngsters an incredible 12th win in 13 matches in all competitions. 

Major moment

On his return to action for the Club's Under-23s, Belgian striker Josh Eppiah required just 10 minutes to register his sixth goal of the season in all competitions. 

He needed to be alert, too, as Tudor Băluță looked to return to the ball to his goalkeeper, but there was Eppiah to pounce, snatch it off him, and send City into a decisive lead.

Who impressed?

Former Foxes defender Sean St Ledger said on LCFC TV: “I think Calvin Ughelumba has been fantastic tonight, he’s been quick and strong. A couple of his clearances went out of play, but on the whole he’s made good decisions throughout the game and I think he’s been fantastic.”

Where does it leave us?

Leicester's youngsters climb to second in Premier League 2 Division 1 on 28 points, two adrift of leaders Chelsea, who have one game in hand on the Foxes.

Coming up…

City face a second game inside a week on Friday when they travel to Borehamwood FC to face Arsenal in the Premier League International Cup (7pm GMT kick-off).

Leicester supporters can, as usual, tune into live and free coverage of the clash on LCFC TV.

The details… 

City: Johansson; Clark, Johnson, Ughelumba, L. Thomas; James, Dewsbury-Hall; Eppiah (Shade 57'), Muskwe, Leshabela; Reghba (Daley-Campbell 66')

Subs not used: Stolarczyk, O’Connor, Wright

Goal: Eppiah 10’