Petty: Disappointing Goals To Concede
- Leicester City’s Development Squad defeated for the first time in seven PL2 games
- Ethan Fitzhugh’s goal wasn’t enough as Tottenham Hotspur triumph 3-1 at Lamex Stadium
- A poor first half cost the Foxes, who recovered in the second, says coach Ben Petty
- He also provided an update on Shane Flynn’s condition after the defender was forced off
Three goals in the space of 15 minutes, coming from Yago De Santiago Alonso and Alfie Devine, as well as Lewis Brunt’s unfortunate own goal, put the hosts in a commanding position at the break, with Leicester unable to get a foothold in the game.
City came out for the second period with renewed belief and Petty believes they might have made it a more uncomfortable evening for Spurs had they scored earlier than Ethan Fitzhugh’s 84th-minute consolation at Lamex Stadium.
“I thought the first half was obviously key,” he reflected to LCFC TV in his post-match comments. “We conceded poor goals and it definitely didn’t go to the game plan. Naïve defending, one or two caught out positionally and three very disappointing goals to give away.
“Tottenham played well but we didn’t ride the storm well enough and didn’t deserve the right to play in the first half. The second half was much better, but we gave ourselves too much to do and a mountain to climb after the first half.
“I think if we could have scored a bit earlier, we could have asked a few more questions. We had the chance with Will Russ going through one-on-one, the penalty claim and then Ethan scored a good goal, so we had chances. But you can’t give a three-goal lead away against a good side like Tottenham.”
Already missing the likes of Joe Wormleighton, Sammy Braybrooke and Will Alves after their midweek exploits for the Under-18s, as well as Oliver Ewing through injury, the Foxes’ cause was not helped by a nasty looking fall sustained by Shane Flynn in the opening stages.
That handed a Premier League 2 debut to 18-year-old Zach Booth, while Amani Richards, 17, also made his bow for Leicester’s Under-23s in the second half after a switch in system at the break, moving to a back three.
“We just felt we needed to be a bit more secure,” City’s coach explained. “We unfortunately lost Shane to a head injury. Hopefully he’ll be okay.
“He, amongst the other lads who were already missing tonight, were big losses. Young Zach went on and I just felt it would help him a little bit moving to a wing-back position. We brought Ronny [Nelson] on [at half-time] and just secured it a little bit.”
A run of six Premier League 2 Division 1 matches without defeat came to an end for the eighth-place Foxes and now the focus is on targeting a strong end to the season, with five games left to play.
The 44-year-old added: “We’ve got three or four home games to look forward to before a final away game at Palace, so we’ve got to pick ourselves up now. It’s been a great run; we’ve really enjoyed it. Football has its way of kicking you when you just think you’re on your way up so it’ll be a good test for the lads.”