Two first-half goals gave an in form Leicester City side a deserved win over East Midlands rivals Derby County at Pride Park this evening.
Yakubu opened the scoring just before the half hour mark with a superb strike from inside the penalty area.
Andy King doubled the Foxes’ lead in stoppage time with a cool finish for his fourteenth goal of the season.
Victory for Sven-Goran Eriksson’s men boosted them into seventh place in the Championship – piling more pressure on Rams’ boss Nigel Clough in the process.
The visitors were dominant in the opening 45 minutes, whilst Derby offered very little in the way of clear cut chances after adopting a 4-3-3 formation – as opposed to their usual 4-4-2 - from the outset in an attempt to thwart Leicester’s attacking style of play.
The match saw the return of former Derby man Matt Oakley into the Leicester side, while goalkeeper Ricardo made his debut for the Foxes.
It also displayed two teams in completely opposing runs of form; Derby County in freefall having only won one in their last eleven in the league before kick-off, while Leicester City remained unbeaten in 2011.
After a tentative opening ten minutes, it was Leicester who had the first chance of the game when full-back Patrick Van Aanholt played a tempting ball across the six yard box, however the ball bounced unfortunately for Yakubu who was unable to make contact.
The chance would prove to become indicative of the first half, as it soon became one-way traffic for the Foxes.
A quick Richie Wellens free kick allowed Van Aanholt to whip in another low cross, but again Yakubu was unable to latch on inside the six yard box.
Leicester then had a goal disallowed when Darius Vassell’s fine curling finish from the end of the area was adjudged to have been just offside.
But Sven-Goran Eriksson’s men were soon ahead when Yakubu blasted a stunning volley past Derby goalkeeper Stephen Bywater after the defence struggled to deal with Richie Wellens’ ball into the box.
The goal was the Yak’s third goal in five games for Leicester City and the finish was an example of the Nigerian international’s Premier League quality, but it was also a fully deserved opener for the Foxes, who had dominated possession in opening 30 minutes.
Paul Gallagher came close to doubling his side’s advantage shortly after but his shot across goal from twenty yards flew just wide of the post.
Leicester continued to control play and were soon rewarded with a second goal on the stroke of half-time when Paul Gallagher, who was given far too much time on the ball, played a pinpoint pass behind the Derby defence for Andy King, who coolly slotted past Stephen Bywater.
It was demonstrative of Leicester City’s ability to turn defence into attack instantaneously, and of the Welsh international’s prowess in front of goal.
The second-half saw Derby County switch back to their preferred 4-4-2 formation with the introduction of substitute Tomasz Cywka, who had recently been criticised by Nigel Clough for his performance against Portsmouth last weekend.
The change of formation gave Derby a sense of energy which had been lacking in the first-half – but the hosts still struggled to force Leicester goalkeeper Ricardo into action.
Leicester might have been fortunate not to concede a penalty early after the break when Steve Davies’ free kick appeared to strike the raised arm of Paul Gallagher; however, nothing was awarded by referee Colin Webster.
Derby continued to pass the ball better but never really threatened the Leicester back four – although a nasty clash of heads between Ben Mee and Sol Bamba would have had Sven-Goran Eriksson worried.
Both centre backs were able to continue, although Bamba was eventually replaced by Leicester’s newest loan signing Jeffrey Bruma.
Sam Brayford headed over from a free kick and Steve Davies saw his injury time shot deflected over the bar, but Leicester were comfortably able to maintain their two goal cushion until the final whistle – a result which saw Sven’s men win their sixth league game out of seven in 2011.
Man of the Match – Ben Mee
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