Huddersfield Town 0 Leicester City 1: Straight back up, straight back up
Enzo Maresca’s super Blues are one of only two teams with a 100% record after two rounds of Championship matches. Becky Taylor made the trip to Huddersfield on Saturday and came back humming a new tune.
Football fans love extreme views and jumping to conclusions. Saturday proved no different, as after just the second league game of the season, 'Straight back up, Leicester City' echoed around the the John Smiths Stadium from a jubilant away end.
Although this chant feels very premature and slightly arrogant, I really enjoyed singing it nonetheless. Away days felt draining at times last season, so the positive vibe around is refreshing.
It might be three games in, and could be slightly beer-influenced, but Enzoball is being backed all the way. It turns out the Championship is absolutely pants and even an average performance means another win. All aboard the Maresca bandwagon.
Pre-match: the good and the bad
The Boy and Barrel was a popular pub choice pre-match for many of our fans; we heard Leicester chants filling the streets as people left there to walk down to the stadium. We chose a quieter place called 'The Warehouse'. That was class. It had a few more locals in but it reminded me how much I am here for the Championship and the friendly north for away days.
Before leaving the pub we always await the 2pm team announcement. Right now it's key as it’s anyone's guess who might be playing. Starting with a lad in goal who was on loan at Hartlepool last season was still a delight rather than seeing Danny Ward gracing the team sheet.
Keldog madness back in the side was always going to please me and Dennis Praet seemed like the right choice as everyone was calling for him to come in. I'm not sure I was as positive post-match about Dennis but it was nice to see Enzo sees it as most of us do.
Realistically, Maresca is a miracle worker. He’s turned public enemy number 1 - Jannik Vestergaard - into someone no-one is even mentioning when scanning down the team.
Turning up at the ground the notable inclusion in the away end was the 'Premier League initiative' of 'away fan stewards'; it seems the club still have no idea we've been relegated or we were lied to when the club said they were a requirement (no comment).
Fight and passion
The lack of fight was cited as a key issue last season, so seeing Harry Winks squaring up to an opposition player was a simple act that went a long way in convincing me we are on the right path back to 'passion'.
Winks was at it again as he and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall got right in at the ref after a decision. I don't want us going fully Liverpool with the whole team surrounding the ref like knobheads at every opportunity, but we've got to be better at the dark arts. This was a start.
In the last few years, we also never would have dealt with the aerial attacks we faced in the second half, so it really seems like we are learning even if that's not a prime Enzoball attribute.
Jamie Vardy telling their fans their breath stinks was a bonus fun moment; Vardy doing Vardy things.
Off the pitch, it only took our fans 15 minutes to sing 'Jamie Vardy, he's won more than you' which was expected but made it no less cringeworthy.
A note I wrote during the first half was 'shambles left, right and centre, but there is dark fruit in the away end'; I think this relates to when Jakub Stolarczyk tried to help Huddersfield out by gifting them some chances but my priorities were clear too.
In the concourse at half time it felt like everyone agreed regarding dark fruit and the 2 pint cup option of Amstel. There was barely space to move in the Yorkshire sun (and showers) but plenty of beers and good spirits around.
It was like a reunion for many away day regulars, not loads of chanting in the open air concourse but plenty of discussions and catching up.
Game changers
The clock hits around 70 minutes and Stephy Mavididi and Dewsbury-Hall suddenly play football. It's like we're playing against the clearly weaker younger brother at the park and have been going easy on them, but it's getting dark so they're ready to go all out for the win.
Mavididi showed Wanya Marçal-Madivadua what just backing yourself a bit can do. Although I thought Wanya (my chosen name for him as I'm not getting caught up in this pronunciation game) had a pretty good game he just lacked that final quick decision, particularly to just shoot.
The goal wasn't a classic but they all count, you can't win the lottery if you don't buy a ticket so I really loved the goal for him just going for it. Mavididi milking it in his celebration was great to see and he's on his way to being a fan favourite, I'm sure.
In a game that had lots of similarities with the Coventry game; there were improvements for me defensively. Wout Faes probably deserved Man of the Match which was very welcomed with the news Conor Coady is out for another seven weeks.
Winning when you're not at your best is a characteristic of good teams. That is us right now. I'm looking forward to the club bringing in a couple more players who fit the Maresca mould more tightly to transition to the real deal. The foundations are set.
All in all, there’s a delightful positive energy around the club again which I thought I'd never see again before Enzo and Co came in. If he could just sort out the training ground injury curse too, we will be flying.
Football is healing, Leicester are coming back. (Never did I expect two wins against poor Coventry and Huddersfield sides would provide such positivity, but here we are and I'm here for it).
