Development Squad Pick Up Crucial Point At Sunderland

With none of their rivals playing until Monday night - and with a game in hand at their disposal - the Foxes knew this encounter with the Black Cats was a rare opportunity to clamber away from the depths of the league standings with just five matches remaining ahead of kick-off.

Powerful forward Admiral Muskwe struck either side of half-time for City to give them a very real chance of emerging with a victory which would have propelled them five places but a double from Josh Maja, including an 89th minute penalty, ensured they only collected a solitary point in the North East. 

City raced into an early lead after just six minutes when Muskwe broke the offside trap to find himself behind enemy lines before sliding it beyond Max Stryjek. It was proving to be a successful day for the visitors in the final third with openings presenting themselves at every turn. 

Muskwe's attacking partners, Layton Ndukwu and Josh Gordon, either side of the 18-year-old in a front-three, were posing tough questions themselves. Stryjek had to be alert to the threat of City’s defenders, too, with the likes of Josh Knight and captain Elliott Moore charging forward at set-plays. 

To their frustration, however, they couldn’t force a second before Sunderland levelled. Following a succession of half-chances, the hosts restored parity with just nine minutes of the opening 45 remaining when Joel Asoro robbed Darnell Johnson of possession before playing in Maja to finish neatly. 

Steve Beaglehole’s men didn’t have to wait long to restore their superiority, though, with Muskwe again showing power and pace to gallop through the Sunderland back-line, getting on the end of Gordon’s through-ball, to slip it beyond Stryjek early in the second period.

The 18-year-old, though, was forced to make way for Raul Rubio Uche shortly after having sustained an injury in the build-up to the goal. But City continued to press and could have gone two goals to the good moments later. It fell kindly to Gordon in the Black Cats’ penalty area with 15 minutes remaining.

He didn’t have enough time, however, to rearrange his feet meaning his effort was too weak to fully alarm Stryjek. Missed opportunities eventually came back to haunt the Foxes with Knight adjudged to have felled Asoro in the penalty area with just two minutes remaining. Maja stepped up and converted from 12 yards to secure a share of the spoils. 

Who impressed? 

It’s been an encouraging few weeks for Admiral Muskwe. Having scored a brilliant brace for the Under-23s against West Ham United in the Premier League Cup last month, the agile forward struck again twice at Sunderland to keep his side in the fight for survival at the bottom of the table. 

Steve Beaglehole, the Under-23s manager, called upon his strikers to improve their conversion record before a prolonged Christmas break with goals proving hard to come by at the beginning of the campaign - and his leading men up front have duly obliged in recent weeks with a host of memorable strikes. 

Muskwe showed all the pace and vigour which has daunted defenders in the Premier League 2 pyramid all season to gallop into pockets of space behind the Sunderland back-four to give his side a platform to build upon. After picking up an injury in the second half, the young striker will be assessed in the coming days.

What’s next? 

City now have a four-week break from Premier League 2 responsibilities before Manchester United visit King Power Stadium on Monday 10 March (7pm kick-off) ahead of Liverpool’s trip to Holmes Park seven days later. Difficult away days at Reading and Tottenham Hotspur then await Steve Beaglehole’s men as the Under-23s' fixture list wraps up at White Hart Lane. 

But, following this point at Sunderland, the Foxes sit in 11th place on 18 points, above Reading at the bottom with everything still to play for.

SUNDERLAND: Stryjek, J. Robson, Hume, Wright, Brady, Brotherton, Asoro, E. Robson (c), Maja, Embleton, Molyneux. 

SUBS NOT USED: Casey, Talbot, Poame, Gamble, Allan. 

GOALS: Maja 36, Maja 89 (pen). 

CITY: Iversen, Johnson, Knight, Moore (c), Pascanu, Watts (Kaba Sherif 62), Hammond, Dewsbury-Hall, Ndukwu (Wood 78), Muskwe (Uche 53), Gordon. 

SUBS NOT USED: Bramley, Martis. 

GOALS: Muskwe 6, 51.

ATTENDANCE: 205

REFEREE: Andrew Miller.