Leicester City 4 Tranmere Rovers 0: Ayew ready and Alves shines
Tranmere were the visitors to the King Power as Leicester’s Carabao Cup campaign got underway. A cup run could be a nice distraction from Premier League scrapping. The Foxes are into the third round after some well worked goals for old and new faces.
A whole generation of Leicester City fans were left feeling old after watching a 43 year old Joe Murphy (who to be fair probably feels the same when the commentators insisted on saying it repeatedly) line up for Tranmere.
If you're having a sense of deja vu that would be because Murphy was also in goal for Tranmere 24 years ago when we met in the 2000 League Cup final.
That and the fact that the exact same thing came up when we played them this time last year in the same round of this competition.
Our respective trajectories have varied since 2000 but Tranmere will be glad to not draw us again, of the four ties, Leicester City have a 100% record.
Steve Cooper didn’t pull a lineup change that many of us may have expected. Harry Winks, Wilfred Ndidi and Wout Faes all retained their starting places from Fulham. Risky considering their importance looking ahead to the Villa game. Perhaps odd when Cooper also complained of tiredness in the side after the loss at Fulham.
Ricardo and Stephy Mavididi were restored to the starting lineup, with Hermansen rested and in a bid to remind clubs that Danny Ward is here and that we don't really want him (bids to Rudkin please).
It was a first competitive start for summer signing Caleb Okoli and some more minutes for recent additions Jordan Ayew and Oliver Skipp. There were no real surprises for the rest of the eleven and a sore lack of academy prospects starting given the stakes. Ben Nelson, Will Alves and striker Chris Popov started the match on the bench.
Tonight’s lineup, a balance of first team stalwarts and fringe players served as a handy hint of who may be departing the club with transfer deadline day looming and who we're still desperately trying to shift. With Boubakary Soumare and Tom Cannon not in the squad, perhaps we can expect announcements soon for moves elsewhere for them and some cash coming in wouldn’t go amiss.
It was a slow first half. While the Foxes pressed the home advantage and dominated possession, there weren’t tons of clear cut chances to show for it. The signs were there and promising, Ndidi and then Skipp coming closest before Jordan Ayew broke the deadlock. It was a beautiful shot to put Cooper's side ahead.
Murphy's reflexes were put to the sword in the second half, Leicester capitalising on the possession and having players a class above. Three more goals, a penalty for Mavididi, a well worked goal for Ndidi and a rocket from Winks.
Job done in a reasonably controlled, professional manner for Cooper’s side.
On the fringes
Only the club and (hopefully) Cooper know the fates for those on the fringes of our squad, but a good portion of the starting side were either being given a chance to show Cooper why they should be starting, or to hopefully attract some outside attention for a loan or bid to come in for them.
Mavididi and Ricardo are the two players on the fringes that continue to boggle fans. Both were mainstays and crucial to us last year but find themselves playing second fiddle so far. Mavididi missing out is especially frustrating when we're crying out for creativity and goals.
Against Tranmere he surged forward at every opportunity, perhaps sometimes enjoying one or two unnecessary stepovers, but taking on his man and looking to get the ball forward. For everything De Cordova Reid has offered in work rate, he doesn't offer us this spark. Mavididi didn’t really celebrate the penalty he coolly slotted home but you have to expect he’ll be back into the starting line up again soon.
Ricardo being deployed at right back was interesting. Justin had a tough game at the weekend, punished for two mistakes. It wasn't the inverted wingback role Ricardo was performing last year but he had plenty of opportunities to get forward as Tranmere soaked up the pressure and tried to break when they could.
The penalty he won was a little soft but he had got himself into the right place with two defenders at his back. Perhaps he’ll be pushing a little harder for some more game time again too.
It’s a little tough to judge Okoli and his potential at centre back. He certainly didn’t panic on the ball and wasn’t afraid to get physical a couple of times. But Tranmere only registered three chances, none on target and the back line weren’t called on too often. As the commentary nailed in scathing but true fashion, ‘Danny Ward is the best paid spectator in the King Power tonight’.
Ayew off the mark
Sorry, there'll be more of these headlines to come. After his reasonably short but fine cameo at Fulham at the weekend, Ayew was our starting striker. Benefiting from having actually trained with his team mates, he did look a little sharper and more in sync.
It's not a surprise but his movement and doggedness is a real advantage to this side. None compare to the goat, Jamie Vardy’s, rottweiler approach for getting at defenders and not letting things go, but having another striker who will put himself about and get a little stuck in is appreciated.
His first goal, and the first of the game, was a lovely one. Ok, Ayew won't get half as much space to stand on the ball, roll it and think about exactly which square of the net to place it into in the Premier League but it was still a lovely shot.
From a confidence perspective, it won't do him or us any harm either. He was roaming in from the left at the point of receiving the ball, not shy of working for his chances. You imagine him playing once we have another striking option up front and it starts to look promising.
It was a solid, commanding 70 minutes for Ayew before he was substituted. He got an assist to sit alongside his goal, after receiving a perfect pass from Winks, turning and exchanging some quick one two passing with Ndidi to set up the Nigerian for Leicester's third. It was the final involvement for both on the night.
From Ndidi’s point of view, he played in the 10 role to mixed results. For every charge forward or through ball that looked promising, there was a mislaid pass or strange shot. Still, he got into the right space for the goal, took it well and looked very happy.
Second half energy injection
The second half was a marked improvement in terms of energy and movement. Having a half under their belts may have just meant a team who haven’t really played together felt more comfortable, but we looked more purposeful and dangerous on the ball.
Winks had been the engine throughout but his passing started to cut out numerous Tranmere players. He deserved the goal he got, although it is mildly worrying if you think back to the Supercomputer putting him in our list of top goalscorers with…1 goal. We’ve used up a few of our players who don’t tend to score prolifically cards tonight.
Cooper’s substitutes contributed to that sense of energy and to press home the advantage of tiring Tranmere legs. We probably didn’t need to unleash Fatawu, but it’s never a bad thing to see him torment defenders. Hamza Choudhury added experience and tireless movement.
There was a first team debut for young forward Chris Popov too. The Welsh U23 international looked incredibly up for it, a little raw in execution but very keen. He was unlucky not to latch onto a great ball in the box that you’d have fancied him to put past Cooper.
It was a little disappointing to have to wait until the 72nd minute to get a glimpse of Alves. Cooper obviously wanted to try some things out with how he set up the side in the first half, but even a solid 45 minutes to see what Alves is capable of would have been great. His composure versus his age is misleading.
Alves’ cameo injected more life into the game. It had been a more creative half in general, less overworking the ball and some pinpoint passing and Alves added to that. He was hungry for the ball, quick to use it and attack when he got it and it should give the club some food for thought.
He might not be ready to start the biggest games, but he gave Steve Cooper enough to think about in his 20 minutes to either force a spot on the bench or to ensure that we get him a decent loan move this transfer window. He’s exciting, unpredictable for the opposition and crucially, he needs minutes.
The third round will be drawn on Wednesday 28th August to see who we’ll get. But most of the focus this week will be on the ins and the outs as the transfer deadline awaits.
