NCP

Leicester City 1-2 Aston Villa (Women’s Super League)

I raced back from Braintree last night to pick up a takeaway from Cuzina which is a nice Greek Restaurant close to the City Ground and Trent Bridge, home for 7:30pm the wife put the new Peaky Blinders film on Netflix and we both fell asleep to wake up and find Tommy Shelby was dead.

Spoiler alert! Today is another game of football and one at least a little closer to my south Nottingham home, half hour away in Leicester as the lady foxes play host to Aston Villa.

Both teams have been struggling of late; bottom of the table Leicester have lost six in a row whilst ninth placed Villa are six without a win, losing five in a row before a courageous draw against league leaders Manchester City last time out.

I'm missing a good day of football action to be here as Newcastle host Sunderland in the Tyne/Wear derby, Forest are at Tottenham in a relegation six pointer whilst it's the League Cup final where Arsenal play City, to top it off there's a rugby match on at Leicester Tigers so I'm struggling to find somewhere to park.

The Venue

It's a 2:45pm Kick off, the rugby over the road is 3pm, and the usual roads around the ground are packed, having forgotten to pre pay for parking I'm scratching around for spaces and chance it in a back street car park on Burnmoor Street, it's ran by NCP who went into administration last week, there's a huge sign saying on the entrance ‘private parking Monday to Friday’, it's little wonder NCP are going under by not charging folk close to two major sporting arenas at weekends. I chance parking my car in there as there’s nothing to say I can’t, others are just as confused as they try and download an app and struggle to wonder if they ‘can’ or ‘can’t’ after parking their vehicles in the should be closed but clearly open car park.

It's just a short walk over the road where there's a bit of a fan zone outside the ground, a head tennis table looks to be a bit of a disaster with kids kicking balls everywhere whilst there's various games including one where you can kick a ball through holes which I like the look of. It doesn't look like the winner gets a cuddly prize though so I give it a miss, and continue to walk around the back of the stadium towards the turnstile.

The ground is big and white and blue from the outside underneath greying skies above grey pavements, your typical modern styled soulless bowl with no real quirks other than some cantilevers sticking out from above.

It's a quaint enough walk around the back of the stadium where you can hear the River Soar soaring in the background, a quick hello to the intimidating looking stewards who let me through without a search, I'm inside the spacious blue coloured concourse having used my phone to scan myself in, there's a self-service beer machine which looks newly installed, a counter at the kiosk is empty so I grab a steak pie and cuppa, but after tasting both I probably wish I didn't bother.

Up the stairs to my seat, the usual view out of harm’s way is high above the kiddy chaos of flag waving and screaming screeching fans yelling below, I'm sat on my own facing the corner flag with a nice panoramic view of the largely empty blue seated venue, only the stand I'm sat in is in action today, and it's not even half full for kick off.

The Game

As a couple of girls football teams take their seats in full kits down below, the players come out to a couple of songs from Kasabian and a fans favourite called When You're Smiling which was originally sung by Seger Ellis and Louis Armstrong before being recorded by a local singer Jersey Budd, it’s been the clubs adopted anthem since the 1980’s but this present version is as recently made as 2022.

Villa in all black, Leicester in all blue, it’s not one for the colourblind fans as from a distance it’s hard to tell who’s who, one striking player in the Leicester squad today is former Villain Alisha Lehmann, with her blonde ponytailed hair long down her back.

And after a good half an hour of a first half where not much happens it is Swiss international Lehmann who gives Leicester the lead. Kirsty Hanson has just missed Villa's best chance after rounding the Leicester keeper and hitting the side netting, up the other end the lively Hannah Cain breaks out right, she centres for Lehmann who makes no mistake, the home crowd go wild.

"Leicester, Leicester" is often the cry from the girls down below, they've had selfies, some have brought placards, some have just left to get their half-time Ribena's and upon arriving those who stayed berate them because they missed the goal.

Near me there's a couple of Chinese kids running around waving flags, it feels pretty lawless, children running around and chasing each other on the stadium steps as the action continues, parents nowhere to be seen.

The Game

At half time I'm checking the results from elsewhere, Sunderland have shocked Newcastle to win the derby, Forest are thrashing Spurs in London, I'm sat freezing cold watching kids run around me and waving flags in my face having witnessed two shots on target all half.

I'm hoping for better in the second half and immediately at least, get a goal, A Lynn Wilms corner is swung into the near post and it's Anna Patten who looks like she's got the last touch, poking the ball through a crowd to bring Villa level.

I suppose it's what the away side deserve, they have been marginally the better team without being very entertaining or enthralling, I really like their centre midfielder Oriane Jean-Francois who's a French international, she's got good feet playing the intellectual holding role, keeps possession and reads things well, whilst in attack, I say 'get it to Grant' as Dutch international Chastity Grant is clearly their most productive forward player, she glides past opponents with good ball control and speed.

I'm really disappointed with Leicester who I've seen a bit of in recent years, they are defensively solid but offer very little going forward, Hannah Cain on occasion getting the better of her marker on the right, but they fail to register a single shot at goal in the second half after having just two (scoring one) in the first half.

So when their centre half Chantelle Swaby hobbles off with an injury late on, you fear the worst, as Sam Tierney, a good gritty midfielder is asked to sit in the back four, City lose two of their best players at least in their best positions, and Villa go up the other end, Hanson is set free, this time she makes no mistake with no one around her, sliding in a winner below Leitzig.

There's ten minutes of injury time but there's no way Leicester are coming back, the second half has been more stop than start and it's an agonising watch, I'm infuriated with the tactical time outs taken by goalkeepers going down for no obvious reason, my newest bugbear in football, please IFAB, FIFA, the FA, can you sort this mess out!

The Stars

Villa in fairness are organised and solid throughout, Coached by the classy looking Natalia Arroyo she's trendy in her chocolate brown flairs and trainers, barking orders from the touchline in baggy clothing, I like their centre half duo Anna Patten and Lucy Parker, the full backs are solid in Nighswonger and Wilms, whilst my favourites are either Jean-Francois or Grant who for me make the team tick moving forward.

For Leicester, it's going to be a tough old ask on Rick Passmoor to keep them up, defensively they are good, they have a good goalkeeper in Leitzig, Ashleigh Neville who recently signed is a stallwart of this level, a solid right back, Asmita Ale a good young left back, Thibaud and Swaby decent defenders centrally, Emma Jansson, Sam Tierney, even Liv McLoughin who came off the bench late on, gritty in midfield, but it's further forward where issues lie, Lehmann, famous for her looks, is too inconsistent in possession, Shannon O'Brien and Missy Goodwin might be good WSL2 level strikers at best? Hannah Cain has pace the clubs best forward threat, is limited to not being able to do it all alone.

The Verdict

Leicester sit bottom of the table three points adrift of West Ham United but with a game in hand, my concern is do they have enough goals in them to win their game in hand? Having only scored NINE in seventeen games this season.

No such problems for Villa who's win will steer them clear of any safety concerns, they have twenty points and are eleven clear of Leicester in the only relegation space on offer, next season the league expands by two teams, I wonder will that be without Leicester City? On this showing, I would very much believe so.

The Teams

Leicester City: Janina Leitzig, Ashleigh Neville, Julie Thibaud, Chantelle Swaby (Rosella Ayane 80), Asmita Ale, Emma Jansson (Olivia McLoughlin 73), Hannah Cain, Sam Tierney, Alisha Lehmann, Missy Goodwin (Rachel Williams 69), Shannon O'Brien.

Aston Villa: Ellie Roebuck, Lynn Wilms, Anna Patten, Lucy Parker, Jenna Nighswonger, Oriane Jean-Francois, Miriael Taylor (Ebony Salmon 46), Chasity Grant (Rachel Grant 89), Lucia Kendall, Noelle Maritz, Kirsty Hanson.

2:45pm Kick Off. Sunday 22nd March 2026, Leicester City Stadium, Leicester (att 600 est).