Beaglehole: A Fair Result

- The Foxes earned a Barclays U21 Premier League point thanks to Joe Dodoo’s late strike 

- Beaglehole felt the result was warranted given both sides had the chance to win the game late on 

Development Squad manager Steve Beaglehole spoke highly of his side’s second-half performance following their 1-1 Barclays U21 Premier League draw with Middlesbrough at Belvoir Drive on Monday. 

Middlesbrough edged the first half thanks to Tom McAloon’s neat finish before City emerged a more dangerous side after the break. 

Jacob Blyth went close on a number of occasions, most notably hitting the bar with just over 10 minutes to play, before the Foxes eventually grabbed a deserved goal shortly after thanks to a brilliant Joe Dodoo strike. 

Reflecting on the draw, Beaglehole told Foxes Player HD: “I think it was a fair result because they were far better than us in the first half. We had to change the shape of the team because I thought they were dominating in midfield. We really wanted to play 4-4-2 but they were getting on top of us in there. 

“I felt we were on the back foot in the first half. In the second half we flipped it round. We were by far the better side and had more of the ball. We had more efforts on goal although they were still a danger on the counter. 

“We chipped away and Joe Dodoo scored a very good goal which he’s capable of. We had that desire to have a real impact in the final third and we know we can do it. 

“It was a battle. If you look back to when we got beat 4-0 there last season, they had a stronger side out today with one or two first teamers in there. Overall it was a fair result and it’s a result that we’re reasonably pleased with.” 

Beaglehole was particularly happy with goalkeeper Max Smith-Varnham, who pulled off two excellent saves in quick succession, while half-time substitutes Hamza Choudhury and Matty Miles also impressed the Under-21s boss. 

He said: “I’m really pleased with Max because he hasn’t played too much this year on the back of him playing game after game [for the Under-18s] last year and pulling off saves like that. 

“If you’re around six foot and agile like he is [is great]. He can get down to some shots that some of the bigger boys can’t. 

“We were really up against it [in the first half] so we made a couple of changes at half-time. Hamza [Choudhury] and [Matty] Miles came on and I think they gave us some more energy. Hamza was excellent in terms of winning the ball in the middle of the park. 

“He (Matty Miles) was a threat going forward and he can get up and down the wing. He’s got decent technical ability when he’s in the final third as well as a full back too so I was pleased with his contribution. 

“The full back positions in the modern game are great because they arguably get more of the ball than any player and Matty ticks all the boxes.”