TeaDespite the pouring rain at the King Power Stadium, they saw two incredibly optimistic young girls proudly waving “Foxes Never Leaves” flags in the wind – something Leicester will need now more than ever as their chances of staying in were significantly reduced with this defeat on Sunday.
Even before the defeat against Brighton, Leicester’s hopes were dealt a major blow when Oona Siren fired a brilliant looping volley into the net to secure a valuable point for 11th-placed West Ham in the lunchtime kick-off. A 1–1 draw at home against London City Lionesses left West Ham further behind bottom team Leicester, who were beaten 1–0 by Brighton and dropped to four points with four games remaining.
This season, at least, there is a potential lifeline: a one-leg playoff tie on May 23 between whoever finishes third in the second leg now looms the bigger threat for Leicester.
The only Women’s Super League team affiliated with an EFL club, Leicester’s current plight can largely be attributed to their operating on the lowest budget in the top tier, and having lost key players such as Ruby Mays and Japan duo Saori Takarada and Yuka Momiki last summer. The pre-season concluded with Amandine Mikel leaving his role as manager 11 days before the opening matches.
They are on a seven-match losing streak in the league and it has coincided with a significant improvement in results for Liverpool, who now look completely safe after their impressive January transfer activity.
The latest of seven consecutive WSL defeats came on a humid afternoon as Brighton showed their class on the ball, particularly in the first hour, with Fran Kirby’s movement and creativity causing a lot of problems. After the hosts resisted pressure in the first half, Kiko Seike broke the deadlock by intercepting Rosa Kafaji’s unselfish pass after Kirby opened up the backline with a superb through ball.
The traveling fans, including one fan dressed in a seagull costume, celebrated as their team moved up to sixth in the table. A satisfied Brighton head coach, Dario Vidosic, said: “I was very happy with the first half (and then) we managed the game well and it was a well-deserved three points.”
Perhaps there were a few moments to give Leicester’s supporters some reason for hope, not least a heroic block from Julie Thibaud, whose last-ditch save helped keep Leicester in the contest, but the standout statistic of the game was that the home team had no shots on target. They really lack quality in the final third.
Leicester manager Rick Passmoor said, “You could see the players pulling together, never lacking in effort.” “We know we have a challenge where we have to produce and stick together.”
Due to the extra length of the international window following next weekend’s Women’s FA Cup quarter-final, it will be almost a month before Leicester play again on 26 April. When they finally return to action, Leicester’s remaining matches are against London City Lions and Arsenal, before a home match against Chelsea on the final weekend. They conclude their regular season with a trip to Everton.
If Passmoor’s team participates in the dangerous playoffs, it is still difficult to guess the identity of their opponents from the second level. Decisive wins for Crystal Palace and Birmingham on Sunday kept the race for automatic promotion neck-and-neck and leaders Charlton missed out on the chance to clinch a top-two finish. Newcastle and Bristol City are still in contention but their hopes are fading.
The top two will be automatically promoted, while the third-placed team will host the bottom finisher in the WSL and that is looking increasingly likely to be Leicester.
These are uncertain and worrying times for the football club, with the Leicester men’s team in the Championship relegation zone, one point from safety after being deducted six points for overspending. This could still be a campaign to forget for the men’s and women’s sides.
