Leicester gift snatched back by Clemence

Leicester gift snatched back by Clemence

A surreal beginning was at odds with a dramatic finale last night as Leicester City recorded a first win for Gary Megson, their new manager, and earned a third-round tie away to Aston Villa. The victory also represented a happy return to the City Ground for Megson, whose unsuccessful spell as Nottingham Forest manager ended 19 months ago. Predictably, his emergence from the players’ tunnel provided the cue for abuse from the Forest supporters, but after a sporting yet bizarre opening ten seconds, Megson and his team rose to the challenge.

A goal adrift when the initial meeting was abandoned because Clive Clarke, the Leicester defender, suffered a heart attack during the half-time interval, Leicester stood aside and allowed Paul Smith, the Forest goalkeeper, to amble from the halfway line, exchange high-fives with Marton Fulop, his opposite number, and prod home to restore the advantage.

The idea came from Milan Mandaric, the Leicester owner, Megson and Tim Davies, the club’s managing director, after Forest’s response to events in the ill-fated first meeting. “It was a gift from everyone at Leicester City for the way Forest behaved in the first game,” Mandaric said. “We wanted to show that morality and fair play are not dead in the game.”

Although the plan was hatched on Sunday, it was kept secret from Forest until two minutes before the kick-off, to avoid any possible skulduggery. “We had to keep as quiet as we could because of the gambling angle,” Megson said. “I told Colin Calderwood [the Forest manager] just before kick-off and it was agreed I would decide which Forest player would score.”

In the event, Smith, arguably culpable for the two goals Leicester scored in as many minutes to turn the tie on its head, proved a more accomplished striker than custodian. By contrast, Leicester were indebted to Fulop for maintaining their chances of victory.

It was Fulop who prevented Forest from doubling their lead from a more conventional passage of play, nullifying a counter-attack by forcing Junior Agogo to take the ball wide and presented him with a significantly reduced target.

Through the pace of Nathan Tyson and Agogo, Forest appeared to have the greater cutting edge and Leicester needed a set-piece to restore parity when Alan Sheehan curled a free kick round the defensive wall.

Having drawn level, Leicester were rescued again by Fulop when the goalkeeper, diving to his left, palmed away a goalbound header from Luke Chambers. The near-miss served as a spur to Forest and they, rather than their Coca-Cola Championship opponents, looked the more likely to score.

Megson attempted to address his team’s impotence by introducing Matty Fryatt at the expense of DJ Campbell, but within seconds of the change, Forest went ahead again, this time through Tyson. Set up by a superb long pass from Kris Commons, the Forest striker dispatched a low, left-foot shot past Fulop.