The ACN Match Review 25/26: Leicester (h) | OneFootball

How did we play?

The first 70 minutes saw a performance that might have saved Liam Manning his job. The players were committed, fought hard and deserved to be ahead. Topic and Mattsson looked a good pairing in midfield; Darling back to his best with Medic solid and impassable; Kvistgaarden and Sargent buzzing around up front. There was balance across the whole team and we wondered if things had finally started to click. Then substitutions were made and we reverted to Manning 1.0, after which it was all over.

What was the atmosphere like?

There was a momentary sense of perspective as a rather beautiful rendition of the Last Post was played before kick off. How much does all this football toxicity really matter in the face of real-world aggression? It seemed to spur a collective will to support the team and the team responded. Despite all the talk through the week, the atmosphere was as good as it’s been for a long time – spontaneous OTBCs breaking out, huge roars for big tackles.

From a personal perspective I felt it was sad that boos and anti-Knapper chants broke out immediately after conceding the equaliser when not five minutes before the place had been rocking. For once, the players deserved more. I felt sad that this is what we’ve come to as a club – to boo and protest even when we’re not even losing. But this is a symptom of years, not just months, of ill feeling and it’s now so engrained it will take years to undo.

What was the best bit of the game?

Mathias Kvistgaarden’s goal was great timing and a reward for the hard work the team had put in. It set the Carra alight.

Hero of the match

See above. Kvistgaarden deserved his goal – a fantastic volley – through sheer perseverance, not just throughout the match but also at that particular moment, where he refused to let the defender get to the ball, took a couple of stabs at it, missed, then tried again and scored. 

What was the worst bit of the game?

Oh, how we unravelled. 

Summary in Five Words

Good game, piss-poor outcome.