Petty: We Played Well Enough To Deserve Something
- Leicester City Development Squad beaten 3-1 by Manchester City
- Chris Popov opened the scoring at LCFC Training Ground
- Micah Hamilton and a brace from Jaden Heskey ensured victory for the visitors
- We have to be more clinical, says coach Ben Petty following the game
As the 2023/24 PL2 campaign draws to a close, Leicester’s Under-21s played out their penultimate fixture at LCFC Training Ground, losing 3-1 to Manchester City.
Despite taking a first half lead through Welsh striker Chris Popov, the Foxes weren’t able to keep out the quality of Man City, but Petty was delighted with the football played in Seagrave.
“I thought it was a very positive performance,” the coach stated. “The first half is probably as well as we’ve played, but the big lesson tonight is you have to go in at half-time leading the game following the way we played.
“The momentum tipped with Man City equalising and they came out strong in the second half and it was tough to deal with. But it was a great game for our players to play in and I thought they stood up well to it.”
The scores were level at one goal apiece heading into the break, but the coach admits that had an effort from midfielder Sammy Braybrooke, which hit the crossbar, gone in, then the three points may have been achievable.
“It was a massive blow,” Petty admitted. “Sammy [Braybrooke] hits the underside of the crossbar at 1-0 so you could go 2-0 up and then in a matter of minutes, it’s 1-1 at half-time.
“As much as we talked about it at half-time, you could see Man City were in the ascendancy; they made a few changes and they were very good in the second half.
“Clinical is the word I’ve used. We need to be more clinical at both ends, in both penalty areas to get these good results.”
After perseverance in the Citizens’ box, Leicester did break the deadlock after 25 minutes and Petty was keen to commend not just the goalscorer, but all the players involved in the build-up play.
He went on to explain how the Foxes are not at full strength and still working tirelessly and effectively to bring the likes of Braybrooke and Will Alves up to speed for the remainder of the season.
“I though Silko [Thomas] and Wanya [Marçal] were outstanding tonight in the wide areas,” Petty continued. “And if I’m being critical, I don’t think we got the ball to them enough.
“It just goes to show that if you get the ball in there, then Chris [Popov] will score. He worked really hard and he’s still coming back to full fitness.
“We’ve got players that are rehabilitating and coming back up to full speed. Sammy [Braybrooke] and Will [Alves] got good minutes, but they’re not at 100 per cent so we need to take that into consideration, but it was a good football match.”
The weather certainly didn’t help as the wind and rain whistled around the open pitch in Seagrave, but the coach was impressed with both team’s quality to keep the ball on the deck and not let the adverse conditions affect their style of play.
Petty added: “I though both teams handled the weather really well. Credit to both, the ball was kept on the floor; the wind didn’t affect the game, and if anything, the rain made the pitch quite slick so there were some good passes.
“Man City have got some top players, and they gave us a good test tonight but I think anyone sat in the stand will say it was a really good game and Leicester were more worthy than a 3-1 defeat.”
City’s Under-21s have two games remaining this term; a final home match against Stoke City before travelling to the capital to take on a West Ham United side currently fighting for the title.
The coach expects a tough test but believes these are the best conditions to prepare youngsters for the senior game and looks forward to the challenges that await them.
“We want to win both games,” Petty announced. “We set our stall out to win the last three and we couldn’t do that tonight although we probably played well enough to deserve something.
“Stoke at home next week and then West Ham away; it’s two great challenges for us and we’re looking to finish the season with a couple of wins.”