Tranmere Rovers 0 Leicester City 2: Enzo’s Boring Blues make it 6 from 6
Leicester City progressed to the next round of the Carabao Cup with a routine 2-0 win at Tranmere Rovers on Tuesday night. Becky Taylor made the trip and was rewarded with some memorable moments, although not many came on the pitch.
Travelling up to Birkenhead, sat in the inevitable M6 traffic, the topic of conversation was 'why are we doing this?'
The truth is, none of us would have been anywhere else - a new ground tick for all 5 of us (and I'd expect many others of the 2,000+ making the trip).
Considering Leicester's predictably unpredictable tendencies, we've not succumbed to lower league opposition in the Carabao Cup since the 2015/16 season. That one turned out alright though, didn't it?
While it wasn't a classic, this was another professional performance, avoiding the banana skin. The highlights included the moon, an incredible stat and the pre-match burger - all to be discussed…
Nelson senior
After being warned of the surrounding area not being very picturesque or welcoming - as two of our supporters’ coaches found out, getting a window smashed upon leaving - we were pleasantly surprised by our pre-match experience.
The Mersey Clipper, which looks onto the ground, provided free parking, great food and plenty of space for a solid pre-match pub. The flamegrilled XL cheeseburger is highly recommended, beating the pies on offer in the ground.
We spent our time servicing other fans by letting them know they didn’t need to pay for parking if they input their registration on a screen inside. God's work… providing we don’t all end up with a ticket next week.
One of those we helped with the parking announced himself as Ben Nelson's dad. It'd be a strange thing to lie about so we assume he was telling the truth. It was apparently his opening line to many inside the pub. Post-match, the lads enjoyed a celebratory moment with him as his son had made it onto the pitch for his debut. Such small, random moments become away day highlights.
Boring, boring Leicester
15 minutes into the game, I'm unsure if Tranmere had even touched the ball. We'd moved it around okay without creating many clear-cut chances, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall's classic terrible first touch being the downfall of some promising positions.
Grumbles of it being boring trickled around some in the away end, and were heard at different intervals throughout. I warn any of those people now - it might be a long season for you.
When things did get less 'boring', around halfway through the first half, we conceded two chances in as many minutes and the same people moaned even more at that.
Both were long-range efforts, the first a well-hit strike but one Jakub Stolarczyk chose to punch when I think he could have caught it. The second made everyone's heart stop for a second, Tranmere’s Josh Hawkes attempting a lob with Stolarczyk off his line but it was short-lived panic as he gathered it comfortably.
'Did you cry at Wembley?'
Leicester played Tranmere in the League Cup final in 2000. You may have heard this already but on that day Joe Murphy played in goal for Tranmere - 23 years later and 42-year-old Joe Murphy lined up in goal for Tranmere against Leicester in the League Cup: a spectacular stat that everyone enjoyed.
As Murphy took his place for the second half he was greeted with chants of 'did you cry at Wembley?' from Leicester fans behind the goal. It was in good spirits and taken well.
The atmosphere at games such as this can be hit and miss. With Leicester fans making up around a third of the attendance on the night, we did provide some good volume at times.
Standouts
On the pitch, Marc Albrighton was probably one of the better players in the first half, even if I wasn’t convinced by the game plan of him getting the ball and crossing to Dewsbury-Hall and Vardy. He got some plaudits from fans, no more so than someone referring to him as world-class and singing his name at every opportunity.
Everything became more positive with the four half-time changes (including Albrighton going off), something I completely rate Enzo for, with all four making an impact.
Wilfred Ndidi, with a goal and an assist, was arguably the 'game changer'. His goal was definitely a pass but it was very satisfying hitting both posts and going in nonetheless. Only time will tell if that is Ndidi bowing out on his Leicester career.
The other goalscorer was Jamie Vardy, someone who has been a hot topic of conversation among Leicester fans this week. He looks like he is just enjoying himself this season.
Vardy probably won't score loads of goals, but will absolutely go out winding up opposition fans with a smile on his face. He let some young Tranmere fans know the score and a reminder of his name in injury time to top off the evening.
Discussing a game where someone makes their debut without mentioning them seems unfair, so a few words on newbie Yunus - our fans greeting him with the lyrical 'Yunus, Yunus, Yunus!'
I saw enough that I think he'll be steady for us this season; wants the ball, not afraid to run with it and wasn't fazed by the swap from Istanbul to playing in Birkenhead.
We won’t mention the miss when Vardy did well and put it on a plate for him about six yards out and he put it wide with a mishit.
To the moon
The topic of conversation for the second half turned to the (almost full) moon which had showed itself to the left of our eyeline.
The moon's development somewhat mirrored the performance; fresh, lovely stuff near the start of the second half, slight lull in the middle going behind a cloud, back out high and bright to sign off a successful trip up the M6.
If a photographer didnt get a great picture of it, particularly with one of the classic old floodlights of Prenton Park, I'll be pretty disappointed. It will certainly be the random thing that's recalled when reminiscing about this game in years to come.
Although the performance wasn't out of this world (not sorry), we're into the next round and I'm hoping for another new away ground for round 3.
Big up the boring Enzo blues. 6 from 6...
NOW READ: What happens if Leicester City need a plan B this season?
