‘We Were Excellent’ – Petty On Villa Stalemate

- Leicester City’s Under-21s drew 2-2 away to Aston Villa in Premier League 2 on Friday
- Joe Wormleighton and Arjan Raikhy scored for the Foxes at Bodymoor Heath Training Ground
- Coach Ben Petty gave his thoughts on an entertaining encounter between the two Midlands sides
- It was a game which could have swung either way and Petty was delighted with the team’s efforts

The visiting Foxes were a goal down after just six minutes following Jamaldeen Jimoh’s opener but responded quickly thanks to a clever flick from captain Joe Wormleighton to send Silko Thomas’ free-kick into the net – a routine City had been working on prior to arriving at Bodymoor Heath Training Ground.

Arjan Raikhy then finished off a neat move to edge the away side in front, though a second-half spot-kick, converted by Kobei Moore, ensured a share of the spoils for the hosts in the Second City, at the end of a pulsating encounter.

“That was a really good game, we enjoyed it,” Petty reflected in his post-match analysis on proceedings. “I thought we were excellent and worked really, really hard. It wasn't an ideal start; we were looking for a fast start as well, but Villa got it.

“But we reacted really well. It was one of our plans tonight to make in-swinging set plays so it's always nice when a set play comes off. Then I thought we scored a fantastic second goal to take the lead. There's been some really good moments in the game.

“We were unfortunate with the penalty in the second half to go to 2-2 because I thought we were in control of the game and we were looking sharp on the break. Overall, it was a good point.”

It leaves Leicester 22nd in the 26-team Premier League 2 standings, with a third consecutive away fixture against Sunderland coming up this Friday evening at Eppleton Colliery Welfare Ground (7pm GMT kick-off).  

The 46-year-old continued: “I think going away from home at this level is very difficult. We saw that last week at Everton, 3-2 up with eight minutes to go and couldn't quite hold on. You're hoping that the lads can learn from that and it looked like they did tonight.

“They saw the game out much better to secure a point. It’s valuable experience for them. We wanted the win, because obviously we want to try and get this final 16 place, but a point away at Villa is a good result and I'm pleased with the efforts. We go back to Seagrave now and recover for next week.”

Having made his return as a substitute against Everton last week, Sammy Braybrooke started for the first time in just over a year, playing the opening 45 minutes as he continues his phased recovery from an ACL injury. There were also some pleasing displays within the backline, with Petty praising their performances.

“We've got a plan for him (Braybrooke) and we're sticking to it,” City’s coach revealed. “He's been out 13 months, which is a hell of a long time. But you saw flashes tonight of his brilliance.

“We love him at Leicester City. He's one of our top players and long may he continue the improvement as the fitness levels go up and hopefully we can get him closer to the [First Team] Manager.

“I thought Joe [Wormleighton] was excellent tonight. He's playing on the wrong side at the moment, because Brandon [Cover] is playing so well at right-back, but they're two excellent full-backs. They're developing really, really well and Joe could have had himself a brace tonight.

“It was unfortunate, but there were some really strong performances - I thought Bobby Amartey coming in at centre-back meant we had three scholars start the game, which is great. There was a lot of development going on, and I'm delighted with them.”