Maresca: A Very Special Win
- Leicester City saw off Birmingham City to claim a crucial three Sky Bet Championship points
- The 2-1 win came courtesy of goals from Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Stephy Mavididi
- Manager Enzo Maresca gave his immediate reaction to a victory which puts City back on top of the table
All was going to plan when Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall fired home the opener at King Power Stadium, but following Jay Stansfield’s equaliser, Leicester had to force through a late winner, courtesy of Stephy Mavididi heading in Yunus Akgün’s cross.
Those three points move the Foxes back to the top of the Sky Bet Championship, with a game in hand on Ipswich Town and Leeds United – who both lost on Saturday.
“It’s a very special win, especially because we were trying and trying and we struggled to find the goal,” the Manager reflected. “But at the end we completely deserved it. I think we were very good in the first half and second half.
“We just lacked quality in the final third, but we were playing good and then we were playing even better with Dennis [Praet] and Yunus. They helped us to win with patterns that we use a lot.”
The visitors’ goal, coming just before the break following an error at the back, could have derailed Maresca’s men but they were able to remain calm and stick to the game plan, eventually managing to find a way through Birmingham’s stubborn rear-guard for a second time, sparking jubilant scenes around Filbert Way.
The 44-year-old explained: “In this kind of game, when you struggle to score, you are also needing to be careful about counter-attacks and transitions. But the team was there trying to attack and score the goal. After the first half I asked them for even more calmness.
“In the first half we were playing many times with a rushed long ball but in the second half we were even better. Even Mads [Hermansen], we played with him in the second half many times and were not nervous.
“People may have been nervous around but that is natural after the goal we conceded. Mads had been fantastic since we started, and he has helped us a lot.”
Only Jamie Vardy has scored more league goals for City than Dewsbury-Hall and Mavididi this term and both will need to continue their current form in the remaining six games, starting with Millwall on Tuesday night.
“I’m happy for both of them,” the Italian added. “I think they’ve scored 12 [each], hopefully they can continue to play well. Because when you are there attacking and you struggle, you have to continue. The support was fantastic. We’re altogether for the last push.
“We never lost confidence. We lacked the results, but we did not lack the performance. The environment has also always been good. Now onto Tuesday’s game – we do not have time to think much, it’s just to focus on Tuesday. It’s one game at a time and then we think about the next one.”