Leicester 2 Albion 0: Blow by blow

A challenge by Watson on Dickov, spotted belatedly by the linesman, gave the home side their first opportunity to demonstrate their prowess from dead ball situations.

Izzet floated the resulting free kick into the box where Beasant took a confident catch.

Albion showed no early signs of being overawed as they carved out the first chance of the contest in the fifth minute.

Hart threaded a pass through the middle of the Leicester defence for Brooker to hit a powerful shot on the run which was beaten away by the well-positioned Walker.

Moments later Zamora could not get any power into a header from a centre by Carpenter, giving Walker a more comfortable save.

The Seagulls were evidently not prepared to simply be obliging hosts at a promotion celebration.

Elliott, trying to shepherd behind a ball from Ingimarsson, was sufficiently unsettled by the tenacious Hart to conceded a foul.

Cullip had a back heel blocked and Rodger a fierce volley blocked from the free kick which followed.

Albion's early promise counted for nothing as Leicester seized the lead in the 10th minute with their first serious attack.

Dickov, who played eight games for the Seagulls on loan from Arsenal in 1994, did the spade work down the left.

The diminutive Scot's cross, hit with pace into the near post, was met by Izzet with a diving header which slanted past the helpless Beasant.

It gave the Turkish International midfielder his fifth goal of the campaign and Leicester just the start they wanted to settle any nerves.

The goal gave Leicester the chance to express themselves a bit more and the Seagulls spent a spell chasing around for possession.

Hart was a particularly willing worker in this respect, harrying the opponents at every opportunity.

Blackwell and Dickov confronted each other as the Albion stopper tried to shield the ball behind for a goal kick.

Dickov was lectured by referee Mike Ryan in front of the Albion fans, prompting predictable cries of: "Brighton reject".

Blackwell was also then spoken to by Ryan without a card being shown.

Play was held up as goalscorer Izzet crumpled in a heap after seemingly turning an ankle over.

He eventually returned somewhat gingerly to the fray.

The game became a little scrappy and disjointed, with Albion striving unsuccessfully to rediscover their initial momentum.

The blustery conditions were making life difficult for both sides and goalmouth incident was in short supply.

Dickov, with his back to goal, wrong-footed Watson before setting up Elliott just outside the area. His shot was well struck but flashed wide of Beasant's righthand post.

Stewart, a product of Leicester's youth system, then cut inside to curl an effort some way wide of the far post from 25 yards.

Albion continued to compete manfully and were refusing to be outmuscled.

Izzet collected a caution for a late tackle on Carpenter ten yards outside the Leicester area, which provoked an angry reaction from the Albion midfielder.

A free kick by Izzet in the centre circle, meant for the supporting Sinclair but delivered straight into touch, rather typified a largely uninspiring half.

Albion put together a good move which almost produced an equaliser on 37 minutes.

Mayo's deep cross from the left flank was laid back by Zamora into the path of Watson and his ferocious left footer was pushed over the bar in acrobatic fashion by Walker.

Rodger caught the Leicester defence somewhat offguard from the ensuing corner, the Seagulls' first of the game.

The ball was cleared back out to Carpenter, whose angled drive was held by Walker at his near post.

The promise for Albion was maintained as Hart had a shot from Zamora's pass deflected narrowly over the bar by Elliott.

Dickov should have doubled Leicester's lead on a smart break shortly afterwards.

The bustling Benjamin found him goalside of his marker with a low cross from the right, but Dickov drove tamely straight at Beasant from close range.

Leicester went further ahead a minute from the break, Stewart powering a free header into the roof of the net from Izzet's corner.

It was a real body blow for Albion and the manner of the goal must have enfuriated Coppell.

Preston's first goal at Withdean last Saturday came in virtually carbon copy manner.

Ingimarsson was having quite a tussle with man mountain Benjamin.

Albion's Icelandic defender on loan from Wolves had his name taken in the dying stages of the half following a tug of war with the Leicester forward.

Ingimarsson protested in vain to the linesman that he was the one having his shirt pulled.

Half-Time: Leicester 2 Albion 0.

The half time score was harsh on Albion.

They had enjoyed good spells before both Leicester goals, but to make matters worse news filtered through that relegation rivals Stoke were ahead by the same margin at home to Wimbledon.

There was an irony about the identity of one of the Stoke scorers. Ade Akinbiyi had a loan spell with the Seagulls and he was regarded as a big money flop when former Albion and Leicester boss Peter Taylor signed him for the Foxes.

iI the early stages of the second half Carpenter, found by his midfield partner Rodger, dipped a volley from long range over the bar as Albion looked for the goal they needed to put the outcome back in the balance.

Benjamin capitalised on rare confusion between Albion's trio of central defenders to strike a loose ball just wide from 20 yards.

The swivelling Dickov then lifted an effort over the bar from inside the area.

Albion were getting a little anxious at the back and making one or two mistakes as they pressed for salvation.

A superb save by Beasant kept them in it approaching the hour mark.

Stewart showed delightful skill to control a pass down the right wing from Izzet. It took him away from Blackwell to cross low into the area.

Dickov failed to connect properly but Benjamin did at the far post with a shot destined for the net, only for Beasant to scramble across his line and keep it out.

Hart had his name taken on the hour for persistent offending culminating in an untidy tackle on Izzet.

Rodgers cut in from the left wing to unleash a shot from outside the box which finished much wider of the target than Beasant's rather extravagant dive suggested.

Albion required a response on the score sheet to give themselves hope. Zamora, well shackled so far, tried to provide it with a low shot which Izzet deflected behind for a corner.

Shortly afterwards Zamora headed straight at Walker from Mayo's cross to the far post.

Jones came on for Blackwell in a switch to to 4-4-2, then Oatway replaced Brooker in a further change in formation to 3-5-2.

The flurry of substitutions continued, with Barrett introduced for Zamora 13 minutes from time as Coppell tried everything to retrieve a result.