Ipswich Town scored a stoppage-time equaliser to take a point from their top-of-the-table clash against Leicester City on Boxing Day.
The Blues fell behind to a curling effort from Stephy Mavididi, although they reacted well and continued to push for an equaliser. It took until the 93rd minute for it to come, with Sam Morsy firing in a deflected effort from outside the box to make it 1-1, although it was credited as a Jannik Vestergaard own-goal.
Ipswich had the better of the opening stages, exploiting the space down the right that was left by Leicester’s formation. With right-back Ricardo Pereira pushing into midfield, Enzo Maresca set up for his players to switch between a back four and a back three, giving Wes Burns space to attack.
He had two chances to cross into the box in the opening four minutes, although nobody could in the middle could convert, with his second delivery deflecting out for a corner.
In fact, they had three corners in the opening 15 minutes of the match, although the Foxes managed the danger incredibly well.
The mood soured soon after. George Hirst over-stretched as he tried to receive the ball, grasping his hamstring as he fell to the floor. The former Leicester striker tried to play on, but he fell as soon as he stepped back out onto the pitch. Kayden Jackson replaced him in the 23rd minute.
Things went from bad to worse soon after. The atmosphere understandably took a hit after Hirst’s injury and Town lost a bit of a momentum as a result. Patson Daka was able to pick out Mavididi in acres of space down the left, allowing him to cut inside and curl an impressive effort into the back of the net from the edge of the area in the 25th minute.
Against these top teams, there’s always a risk of one quickly becoming two, and the game spiralling out of control soon after. It happened to Ipswich at Elland Road over the weekend, but they didn’t let it happen against Leicester. They kept plugging away and tried to create chances, although individual errors almost saw them fall further behind each side of the half-hour mark.
The Blues had seven corners in the first half, and they made it eight just two minutes after the restart. Leif Davis' delivery landed on the head of Cameron Burgess, but the best he could do was to head over the bar from close range.
They tried to build off that momentum. Less than 60 seconds later, Burns beat Wout Faes and played a low cross into the middle. Conor Chaplin left it for Davis, who lined up the shot, but Abdul Fatawu rushed back to make an excellent block.
They started to look sharper and sharper, taking control amid some controversial refereeing decisions that frustrated the home crowd. Quick movement from Davis gave him space to take a shot from the edge of the area in the 65th minute, but it spun upwards and into the gloves of Mads Hermansen.
Chaplin tried to take the game into his own hands soon after. A powerful shot from just outside the area tested Hermansen, winning Ipswich a corner. It was cleared up to the attacking midfielder once again, allowing him to take aim and loop a shot over the crossbar.
Kieran McKenna's side pushed hard in the dying stages by getting themselves into the box and trying to work openings. However, the space just wasn't there for them to test Hermansen. A moment of magic was needed, and skipper Morsy was able to provide it, taking aim from distance in the third minute of stoppage time.
His strike deflcted up and over Ricardo Pereira and Vestergaard, looping up and over the Leicester goalkeeper to earn Ipswich a deserved point on Boxing Day.
Town XI: 4-2-3-1: Hladky; Clarke, Woolfenden, Burgess, Davis; Morsy, Taylor (Luongo 79'); Burns (Hutchinson 79'), Chaplin, Harness (Broadhead 79'); Hirst (Jackson 23’, Ladapo 87')
Leicester XI: 4-2-3-1: Hermansen; Ricardo, Coady, Vestergaard, Faes; Ndidi (Casadei 56'), Winks; Fatawu, Dewbury-Hall (Akgun 80'), Mavididi; Daka (Iheanacho 63')
Attendance: 29,410 (2,004)
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