Leicester City 2 Hull City 1: Pearson enjoys last laugh as jaded Hull are rocked

‘There’s only one greedy *******,’ came the retort from the 2,084 visitors from Hull City.

Whatever the rights and wrongs of Pearson’s departure from the KC Stadium last November to take charge of the Foxes, there was no doubt that losing to their former manager had stung the Tigers.

Pearson, in abandoning Hull for Leicester, had made it clear which club he felt had the better future prospects so defeat hurt – a point that was etched on the faces of the City players as they left the field.

Striker Matty Fryatt, who had put the Tigers in front on eight minutes before the Foxes hit back to claim all three points, said: “Losing did hurt a bit more.

“That was because of the circumstances with the former manager who left because he didn’t feel we were good enough as players and felt Leicester was a better opportunity.

“They are only a few points behind us now and it is hard to swallow. I know what it was like when they came to our place (when Hull won 2-1 in December) but seeing their reaction after the game was like, ‘We did beat you earlier in the season’.

“It was not a nice feeling. Losing was a big setback but we have a game on Tuesday night and we need to win what is a massive game.”

That Hull are due to travel to Portsmouth tomorrow night should be enough to raise spirits with the south coast club in dire form and looking destined for League One.

The worrying thing from a City perspective, however, is just how jaded Nick Barmby’s side looked against Leicester.

After being rocked by two goals in as many minutes just before the midpoint of the first half, Hull understandably lost their way for a time.

Once Leicester had been reduced to 10 men following Neil Danns’ 57th-minute red card, though, that should have been the signal for City to step up a gear.

Instead, it was the Foxes who upped their energy levels and dug deep into their resolve to see out the rest of the game without being caused too many problems.

A punishing schedule of seven games in March seemed to have caught up with Barmby’s men, who looked leaden-footed compared to their hosts.

Robbie Brady did hit a post after losing his marker to meet an Andy Dawson corner but that was it in terms of genuine goalscoring opportunities during the final half-hour.

Worse still, Leicester could – and really should – have added to their first-half goals as Sol Bamba struck a post and Danny Drinkwater was denied by a brave block from Vito Mannone during the closing stages.

Lloyd Dyer, who had netted the home side’s equaliser on 18 minutes, also went agonisingly close to adding a third after being set up by Jermaine Beckford.

It meant City could have few complaints at having slipped to their second defeat in a week when referee Nigel Miller blew for full-time – a point acknowledged by Fryatt.

He said: “It was a disappointing afternoon.

“We were in a good position but then we had a couple of crazy minutes.

“I would agree that we were not good enough. We didn’t move the ball, as a team, quickly enough. We didn’t know how to break them down.

“We found it tough against 10 men.

“We need to cause more problems for the opposition. When they were down to 10 men, apart from the header (by Brady) from a corner we didn’t do much.

“That is costing us massively.

“We have not scored enough goals and not created enough this season.

“The effort is there but we are having difficulty scoring goals. We have found it tough to create chances, especially when the opposition put men behind the ball. That is why we have had so many nils at home.

“It is something we need to work on.”

The tired efforts of the City squad once faced with the task of trying to break down 10 men contrasted sharply with how the visitors had started the game.

With Corry Evans coming in for Robert Koren, who is expected to be out for three weeks with a hamstring injury, the Tigers began in a positive frame of mind.

They went close inside four minutes when Josh King fought his way through a couple of challenges before firing into the side netting.

It was a warning shot that Leicester failed to heed, Fryatt being the man who punished his former club with a neat finish after being played through by a slide-rule pass from Paul McKenna.

Fryatt then came close to adding a second in the 13th minute when he was denied by a brave block from former Leeds goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel.

The City fans, clearly revelling in their former manager’s discomfort in the dugout, could not resist mocking Pearson with the chant, ‘You’re getting sacked in the morning’.

Pearson, however, was destined to have the last laugh courtesy of Leicester netting twice in 113 seconds.

The equaliser came via a clever dart and shot from Dyer that swerved wickedly at the very last moment to deceive Mannone in the Hull goal.

Clearly buoyed to be back on level terms courtesy of their first meaningful attack of the game, Leicester then went in front when a shot by former Sheffield Wednesday loanee Ben Marshall took a deflection off James Chester to loop beyond Mannone and into the net.

After that, Hull were distinctly second best with even the red card shown to Danns for a reckless challenge on McKenna not being enough to breathe fresh life into jaded legs.