Town ended their season with a 4-2 defeat at Leicester City, despite a second half fightback which saw Grant Leadbitter (pen) and Connor Wickham pull the scoreline back to 3-2. Leicester were 3-0 up at the break through Andy King, Yakubu and Yuki Abe, Diomansy Kamara adding the fourth to seal the Foxes’ win.

The Blues lined-up without their Player of the Year Jimmy Bullard and goalkeeper Brian Murphy, who appears to be on his way out of Portman Road when his contract is up in the summer, like Gareth McAuley, who returned from his groin injury, and skipper David Norris, who were both likely to be playing their final games for the Blues.

Connor Wickham was back after his rib problem on the left of midfield with Lee Martin back from his suspension on the right. Colin Healy replaced Bullard in central midfield.

Skipper Norris had an early chance to mark what is probably his final Town game with a goal, seizing on a loose second-minute Yuki Abe pass but shooting wide from the edge of the box with only Chris Weale to beat. At the other end, Chelsea loanee Patrick Van Aanholt similarly missed the target but from a greater distance.

On eight Yakubu blazed over from the left and moments later the on-loan Everton man scuffed wide after Van Aanholt, who played against the Blues for Chelsea in the FA Cup earlier in the season, had cut the ball back from the left.

For Town, a 12th minute Martin shot was deflected wide, then from the corner Damien Delaney’s stab at goal was blocked on the lined, Wickham looping his subsequent header to Weale.

The Blues should have been in front in the 14th minute when Wickham unleashed a fearsome effort from five yards outside the area on the left. Weale did well to get down to his right to save but couldn’t hold on. The on-rushing Jason Scotland seemed certain to score, but the keeper managed to get back across to block with his chest. Nevertheless, the Trinidadian will feel he should have netted his 11th goal of the season.

Yakabu shot straight at Fülöp on 24, then Leadbitter launched the ball into row S of the stand after good work on the right by Martin.

The home side went in front in 26th minute when Paul Gallagher crossed from the left and an untracked Andy King headed past Fülöp from six yards. As Leicester celebrated their goal, Diomansy Kamara replaced the apparently injured Darius Vassell in the Foxes attack. Soon after, Aleksandar Tunchev took over from the injured Miguel Vitor in the Leicester backline.

Just after the half hour, the Blues went close when a Kennedy shot deflected through to Wickham, who sent the ball across the area but too far in front of Scotland. On 34 Gallagher was booked for a foul on Edwards just outside the Leicester penalty area.

There was a scare for the Blues on 39 when a Gallagher freekick on the right reached Tunchev at the far post, the sub forcing Fülöp to push away his volley back across goal.

Leicester were well on top by this stage and their second goal was no surprise when it came in the 41st minute. The ball was crossed from the right by Abe, King diverted it against the post but Yakubu followed up from six yards.

It might have been three shortly before the end of the 45 minutes but a combination of Norris and Leadbitter prevented Yakubu when the Nigerian was bearing down on Fülöp.

As the half moved into injury time, Scotland turned his marker but Weale saved his shot with Wickham screaming for the ball in a better position to the Trinidadian’s left.

Moments later it was three. The Blues were yet again caught on the counter-attack, King playing a pass into an untracked Abe, whose low shot beat Fülöp to his right and went in off the post.

Leicester weren’t particularly flattered by their half-time lead with an unseasonal snowstorm appearing the only way Paul Jewell’s side were going to stand any chance of getting back into the game.

Despite Leicester’s overall superiority, the Blues could and certainly should have scored at least once, maybe twice, Scotland’s early chance being one the former Swansea man really ought to have taken.

The home side hadn’t been made to work particularly hard for their goals with King in particularly allowed to break untracked from midfield with great regularity. The Welsh midfielder and Yakubu had shown a cutting edge again all too evidently missing from the Blues’ line-up.

Town twice went close to getting back on terms in the opening minute of the second period. First Wickham’s curling shot from the 18-yard line on the left deflected wide, then McAuley’s powerful header from Leadbitter’s corner was cleared off the line, preventing the Northern Irishman from scoring against his old club.

Martin sent in a couple of dangerous crosses from the right as the game approached the half hour mark but there was always a Leicester head or toe there to clear.

On 64 Jeffrey Bruma was booked for fouling Edwards as he broke into the penalty area. As the Blues prepared to take the freekick, Carson replaced Scotland, Wickham moving up front. Leadbitter took the kick, but his low effort deflected wide.

Town were getting more and more into the game, winning a succession of corners and in the 67th minute one indirectly led to the Blues pulling a goal back. Leadbitter sent the ball in from right and the recently booked Bruma deliberately punched the ball away as Delaney tried to head goalwards. Referee Boyeson pointed straight at the spot but surprisingly failed to show the defender a second yellow card. Leadbitter’s low penalty beat Weale to his right off the post.

Martin was somewhat needlessly booked for wasting time at a Leicester freekick before the Blues pulled back a second goal, Wickham making the most of a loose Van Aanholt pass and taking the ball on into the area before slipping it past Weale.

Leicester restored their two-goal advantage a minute later when Van Aanholt made amends for his mistake by cutting the ball back from the left to King, who was denied by Fülöp’s foot, but Kamara was on hand to add the final touch.

A game which prior to the sudden spate of goals had seemed to be dying a death, erupted into a bout of handbags in the 75th minute after Kamara reacted angrily to a Leadbitter foul on Yakubu. Once order had been restored, referee Boyeson showed yellow cards to both the Blues midfielder and Foxes striker.

Town had looked a much more threatening proposition since Wickham had moved up front and with Carson’s introduction and on 78 Norris would have pulled another goal back with a shot from just inside the area but for Tunchev’s block. From the corner the Bulgarian found himself in the way again, a powerful Wickham shot hitting him full in the face and knocking him to the ground.

With five minutes remaining, Delaney was yellow-carded for a foul on Kamara, then the Irishman required treatment after another clash between the pair had left him in a heap in the Town area.

Wickham came close to scoring another of his wonder goals in injury time, powering through a number of defenders before hitting a low shot just wide from a tight angle on the left.

After that there was no further penalty area action and another Town season of underachievement was complete.

The Blues were better after the break once Wickham had moved into the attack and might have scored more than their two goals. Leicester were perhaps caught in holiday mode when they had looked comfortable at 3-0 but once stirred back into action by Town’s two goals, quickly exploited the Blues’ weakness on the counter-attack once again.

Paul Jewell will have learnt little from the performance that he didn’t already know. Town, who finished 13th, again showed that the Blues boss has much work to do in the transfer market in the summer in order to build a side capable of competing with the likes of the Foxes at the top end of the Championship next season.

Town: Fülöp, Edwards, Kennedy, Delaney, McAuley, Norris, Leadbitter, Healy, Martin (Peters 74), Wickham, Scotland (Carson 64). Unused: Lee-Barrett, Drury, Brown, Civelli, Murray.

Leicester: Weale, Van Aanholt, Naughton, Vitor (Tunchev 30), Bruma, Wellens (Oakley 78), Abe, Gallagher, King, Yakubu, Vassell (Kamara 26). Unused: Teixeira, Howard, Dyer, Smith. Referee: Carl Boyeson (East Yorkshire). Att: 24,859 (Town: 1,259).

Photo: Action Images

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