Leicester 0 Bournemouth 1: Foxes BOOED off pitch after inept display and Maddison clanger as Marsch learns size of task
IF JESSE MARSCH had any doubts about the scale of the rescue job he is required to perform at Leicester City, then he certainly will not after this inept display.
The American – expected to take the vacant manager’s job at the King Power Stadium – is known for his blue-sky thinking and general positivity.
Yet even he may struggle putting belief back into this sorry Leicester lot, who are solely lacking in form and confidence – none more so than chief playmaker and captain James Maddison.
It was a right old clanger from Maddison which assisted the Cherries winner – grateful recipient Philip Billing may not score an easier goal all year – and saw the south coast club leapfrog out of the relegation zone.
For the Foxes, who were loudly booed off the pitch, this was an EIGHTH defeat in nine matches and one that could be significantly damaging as they fight for their Premier League survival.
It was only a week ago that Leicester axed Brendan Rodgers as the club dropped into the relegation zone for the first time since November following a stinging last-minute defeat at Crystal Palace.
Some may argue that chairman Aiyawatt ‘Top’ Srivaddhanaprabha simply panicked as he pulled the trigger on Rodgers’s four-year trophy-winning tenure.
Pre-match, the Bangkok-born businessman had called on the fans to crack up the volume and “sing up for the team” ahead of this relegation six-pointer.
But there was not much for the home side with their blue clappers to cheer about in a dreadful first half as Bournemouth bossed proceedings.
Danish right-back Victor Kristiansen was one relieved man that his mistake did not prove costly in the opening five minutes.
After Kristiansen conceded a foul outside the penalty area, Billing took the 19-yard set-piece and his left-footed attempt struck the upside of the post.
It was an early warning sign for the caretaking team of Adam Sadler and Mike Stowell in the Leicester technical area.
And Danish forward Billing demonstrated just how dangerous he is again in the 24th minute with a tremendous effort from outside the box following a cleared corner.
The solid shot, which took a deflection, forced a decent save off Leicester goalkeeper Daniel Iversen.
Minutes later, it was turn of Billing’s strike partner Dominic Solanke to have a go but this time the ball fizzed fractionally wide of the goal.
What Leicester could not have envisaged is that their best player would practically gift Bournemouth the three points.
What he was doing nobody knows but World Cup tourist Maddison, without much warning or explanation, played a short back-pass to Iversen.
It was so short that Billing, 26, gladly received possession and then slotted home for his seventh goal of the term.
As Billing kicked the corner flag and Bournemouth manager Gary O’Neil punched the air in euphoria, few could believe what they had just witnessed.
The second half had barely started and Bournemouth could have doubled their lead but once more Iversen was the hero.
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In a heart-in-the-mouth moment, amid a mass of bodies, the giant Dane stopped Chris Mepham and then Jack Stephens in quick succession.
It took until the hour mark when toothless Leicester had their first shots on targets.
First Bournemouth goalkeeper Neto tipped over a Maddison effort and then he foiled Harvey Barnes with a strong left hand.
Enormous credit must go to Bournemouth, who weathered the inevitable late second-half storm by Leicester, especially in six minutes of stoppage-time.
For O’Neil, this impressive result should give them have huge belief that the drop is not the foregone conclusion it was only a few weeks ago.