April 10, (THEWILL) – On Sunday afternoon, Leicester City’s Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall scored the game-winning goal and added an assist as the Foxes beat Crystal Palace 2-1 at the King Power Stadium.
The loss saw Brendan Rodgers’ team leapfrog Palace into ninth place in the Premier League rankings, with the visitors failing to win ahead of Sunday’s crucial FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea.
Leicester had a solid start, creating the game’s opening opportunity within the first five minutes. Ademola Lookman was let free by Luke Thomas’s well-weighted cross down the line, but the RB Leipzig loanee was unable to finish from a tight angle.
As the first half progressed, Palace responded strongly, with Jean-Philippe Mateta forcing a good save from Kasper Schmeichel after bamboozling the Foxes’ defence with some of the slowest step-overs on record.
Youri Tielemans came near just after the half-hour mark, curling an attempt just wide of the post from outside the area.
Leicester seized the lead a few minutes later. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall was the architect, expertly timing his pass to Lookman, who set himself up with one touch and squeezed the ball beyond Guaita.
Soon after, Dewsbury-Hall switched from creator to scorer. Patson Daka slipped in behind Marc Guehi after a blunder by the Belgian, and the Zambian brought the ball out to the Leicester youth academy product, who delivered a fantastic finish.
Just after the hour mark, Youri Tielemans took Jordan Ayew down in the box after a quiet start to the second half. Then came a few minutes of drama. Wilfried Zaha missed the first spot kick but owing to encroachment, referee Robert Jones ordered it to be retaken.
Zaha took another stride forward and missed once again. Luckily for the Ivorian this time, a fortunate rebound saved his blushes and allowed him to take the scores to 2-1 with a headed finish.
This goal threatened to spark a Palace comeback with one set piece sparking a wild goalmouth scramble six minutes from time. Fortunately for the Foxes, Schmeichel somehow emerged with the ball in his grasp once the dust had settled.
This would prove to be the last time Palace would trouble the home side’s goalmouth with Leicester holding on for an impressive win.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
