U18s Report: Leicester City 3 Brighton 1

A double from Keenan King, which included a superb long-range volley, and a strike from Harvey Barnes secured the victory for the young Foxes at Belvoir Drive, with Connor Tighe pulling one back for the visitors from the penalty spot late on.
Leicester had already beaten back in early November, when goals from Conor Anderson, Danny Rowe and King secured the three points on that day.
Looking to move as high as third in the table, City threatened early on through Layton Ndukwu, who did well to deliver from the right wing, only for goalkeeper Harry Doherty to tip over.
Midfielder Matty Miles then had two attempts at goal with 10 minutes gone, but the visitors’ defence stood strong, and blocked both strikes as Leicester piled on the pressure.
Elliott Moore was then on hand on 22 minutes to cut out Jordan Maguire-Drew’s dangerous through-ball, with forward Jack Rowe-Hurst lurking.
Neat play on the right flank from Barnes saw the midfielder whip the ball into Kyle Bailey at the back post, but the No.7 couldn’t direct his header on target.
The breakthrough came on 42 minutes when King, who scored at Southampton in , rolled his defender before slotting in past the Brighton shot-stopper.
And King produced a moment of magic a minute later. The striker collected a long ball before hammering an unstoppable half-volley into the top corner from 25 yards to give the young Foxes a healthy 2-0 lead at the break.
It took just one minute of the second period for City to extend their lead. A neat one-two between Ndukwu and Barnes saw the latter rattle in his side’s third goal of the game.
And Barnes came close to grabbing his second goal of the game on 51 minutes, side-footing Bailey’s pin-point cross over the Brighton woodwork from 10 yards.
King wriggled through just before the hour mark in search of his hat-trick, but couldn’t beat Doherty, who saved well with his feet.
Seagulls captain Jamie Horncastle nodded wide at the back post as the visitors looked for a way back into the game, while substitute Kairo Mitchell went close for City at the other end, slipping past his marker before firing over.
Brighton got their goal with 15 minutes to play after Rowe-Hurst was brought down in the area. Tighe converted the spot-kick past Max Smith-Varnham to give his side a lifeline.
But it was City who mustered up the final opportunities of the game as first Admiral Muskwe, then Bailey, were denied by defiant goalkeeper Doherty.
The fixture provided Leicester with a suitable warm-up as they prepared for their FA Youth Cup Sixth Round clash with Birmingham at King Power Stadium on Wednesday evening, where they will attempt to become only the second ever City side to make it into the semi-finals of the competition.
CITY: Smith-Varnham, Johnson, Chilwell (c), Choudhury, Moore, Kipre, Bailey, Miles (Fura 65), King (Muskwe 78), Barnes, Ndukwu (Mitchell 65)
SUBS NOT USED: Knight, Bramley
GOALS: King 42, 43, Barnes 47
BRIGHTON: Doherty, Courtney, Cox, Tighe, Horncastle (c), Barnett (Cadman 65), Mar-Larusson (Meyers 65), Hutchinson, Rowe-Hurst (Sanders 81), Tilley, Maguire-Drew
SUBS NOT USED: Hobbs
GOAL: Tighe pen 75
REFEREE: Mr S. Hill