Leicester 2-1 Reading: Late Foxes winner takes them out of the WSL drop zone

Willie Kirk's side give their survival hopes a real boost with this win at the King Power Stadium.

Leicester 2-1 Reading: Late Foxes winner takes them out of the WSL drop zone
Leicester City huddle after a recent game.(Photo by Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images)
james_kendrick
By James Kendrick

Leicester City moved out of the Women's Super League relegation zone with a last gasp 2-1 win at home to Reading.

The result means they leapfrog Brighton into 11th but The Foxes have played two game more. Meanwhile Reading continue their run of having lost every WSL away game this season and sit just two points above the drop zone.

Sam Tierney put the hosts in the lead with a wonderful volley halfway through the first half before Charlie Wellings equalised for Reading just before the break.

And after knocking on the door all second half, a low shot from Carrie Jones won the game for Leicester five minutes into added on time.

Story of the Match

After Leicester's 5-0 drubbing at Aston Villa last weekend, manager Willie Kirk made one change to his side with forward Remy Siemsen coming in for Josie Green. Striker Jess Sigsworth also appeared on The Foxes bench after a long period out injured.

Coming into the game, it was one that Leicester really needed to win as they sat two points adrift at the bottom of the WSL, with Brighton who are just above them having games in hand as well

Reading manager Kelly Chambers made two changes to the side that drew 2-2 at home to Brighton last week. Defender Brooke Hendrix and forward Emma Harries both start as Reading look to win their first away game of the WSL season.

There was a fairly serene start to the game at the King Power Stadium, despite all the off the field turmoil with the Leicester men's team announcing the departure of manager Brendan Rodgers just before the women's game kicked off.

But it was The Foxes who got off to the best start. Both Hannah Cain and Ashleigh Plumptre had chances in the first 10 minutes to put their side ahead.

Nearly all of Reading's attacking threat came down their left hand side and the visitors seemed to rely on a lot of long balls and set pieces to get the ball in the Leicester box but on the whole, Leicester goalkeeper Janina Leitzig was equal to them. 

Reading's best chance early on came from a floated free kick into the box that was headed towards goal by Charlie Wellings but it was saved by Leitzig. 

The game was very stop start with a number of stoppages for players to get treatment on both sides which affected the flow of play.

But it was the home side who broke the deadlock midway through the first half. Courtney Nevin did well to deliver a cross from the left hand side and it fell to Sam Tierney who vollied the ball into the far corner to make it 1-0.

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After falling behind, Reading increased their tempo as they pushed to get back into the game. And they were back level just a minute before the break after the ball fell to Wellings from a deflected shot who found the back of the net to send the two teams in level.

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The second half was more disjointed than the first with a number of lengthy stoppages in the first ten minutes as players needed treatment. In addition, referee Richie Watkins had to give four yellow cards during the course of the game.

Late Leicester onslaught

But it was the hosts who desperately needed a win and they were the side that looked more likely to score. In particular, Tierney looked particularly threatening and almost got her second goal of the game with a first time effort from close range but she was denied by a good stop by goalkeeper Grace Moloney.

Siemson was next to create an opportunity as her curling shot hit the post before Cain headed over.

With ten minutes to go, Leicester manager Willie Kirk gambled by bringing on Sigsworth for her first minutes since an ACL injury back in February 2022.

As the game drew to a close, Leicester were throwing absolutely everything forward to try and win it. Cain will feel she could have run it as she went through one-on-one but was denied again by the Reading keeper.

With the game entering the 90th minute, the referee decided on 12 minutes of stoppage time after all the interruptions to the game.

And five minutes in to injury time a cross came in from Cain on the Leicester right and it fell to Carrie Jones in the centre of the box who's low shot found the bottom left hand corner and sent the Leicester fans into raptures as took the lead late on. 

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There was still seven minutes of injury time left when The Foxes took the lead and it was certainly a nervy time for their team as Reading pushed forward looking for another equaliser and they had a succession of corners as they pushed for a goal.

But none of the chances came to anything and the win sees Leicester move out of the drop zone in the WSL table.

Player of the Match - Hannah Cain 

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Hannah Cain was instrumental in a lot of what Leicester did today going forward and a lot of their attacking play came through her.

She started brightly and really set the tone for her side in the final third.

She will be disappointed not to have scored in the game especially when she went through one-on-one but she more than made up for it with her assist for the winner.