Leicester City 2 Ipswich Town 0 Premier League match report: Jamie Vardy scores 200th Leicester goal in 500th and final appearance
Jamie Vardy scored on his final appearance for Leicester City as Ipswich Town were beaten 2-0 by the Foxes at the King Power Stadium on Sunday.
Leicester legend Vardy, who is leaving the club at the end of the season, struck his milestone 200th goal midway through the first half on an afternoon where his career was celebrated by associated with the East Midlanders.
Following an excellent run from James Justin, Vardy latched onto his through ball and slotted past Alex Palmer, before celebrating by hoisting the corner flag aloft in front of the travelling Blues supporters.
Kasey McAteer got the second with 20 minutes remaining when he drilled beyond Palmer at the near post after Wilfred Ndidi’s one-touch pass created the opening.
With back-to-back home wins, Leicester climb above Town to 18th in the Premier League table ahead of the final day of the season next Sunday.
The Blues round off their short top flight stint by hosting West Ham United at Portman Road next Sunday. Leicester visit Bournemouth.
With both sides consigned to their fate in the Championship next season, this game was filled with a wider narrative and it all focused on one man.
Vardy is nothing short of a legend at the King Power Stadium, and his farewell has been weeks in the making since it was announced he was to leave the Foxes at the end of the season.
The 38-year-old is the last survivor from the Leicester squad that famously won the Premier League title in 2016 against all odds, also winning the FA Cup with the club.
Every home supporter was given a blue or white ‘Thank You Vards’ flag to wave as the Leicester captain led the sides out of the tunnel, with a pair of tifos unveiled behind each goal to commemorate Vardy’s achievements.
There was also a special edition of the matchday programme, which sold out in record time before the contest had even kicked off.
On his 500th and final appearance, exactly 13 years to the day since his arrival from Fleetwood Town, Vardy spurned a golden opportunity when latching on the end of Jordan Ayew’s threaded pass, only to take a delayed shot that went wide.
But it seemed inevitable his moment would come soon after.
The King Power Stadium erupted just 28 minutes in as Vardy coolly slotted beyond a static Palmer following some defending that left a lot to be desired in allowing Justin a clear run through the middle of the Blues half.
Vardy’s presence would quieten down from that point before receiving a guard of honour from his teammates as he was substituted with 10 minutes remaining.
Following the conclusion of the action in the East Midlands, Town and Leicester have one more Premier League outing before the pair, who were promoted together 12 months ago, are relegated back to the second tier.
This meant the action was a Premier League contest in little sense but name, and perhaps an early guide towards life in the Championship next season.
It certainly felt that way, and Town could be pleased by the way they started as Leif Davis slammed the woodwork and Omari Hutchinson volleyed over at the back post.
Hutchinson had an even better chance, once the Foxes took the lead, that he really should have done better with. This one also went over the top of Jakub Stolarczyk’s goal after Davis had burst away down the left.
But the Blues regained the initiative after the break with Jack Clarke, Julio Enciso and former Leicester striker George Hirst going close, but the home side would kill the game as a contest with the decisive second goal.
McAteer was the scorer, having come just six minutes after the Republic of Ireland international had struck the post with a curling effort from the edge of the area.
Leicester City (4-2-3-1): Stolarczyk; Thomas, Faes, Coady, Justin (Ricardo 64); Soumare, Ndidi (Skipp 88); El Khannouss, Ayew (Monga 64), McAteer (Evans 80); Vardy (c) (Daka 80). Subs: Iversen, Okoli, Kristiansen, Buonanotte. Booked: McAteer.
Ipswich Town (4-2-3-1): Palmer; Davis, Greaves, O’Shea, Tuanzebe; Cajuste (Taylor 70), Morsy (c) (Luongo 88); Clarke (Broadhead 70), Enciso (Chaplin 70), Hutchinson; Hirst (Delap 70). Subs: Walton, Woolfenden, Johnson, Godfrey.
Referee: Andrew Kitchen (Durham).
SuffolkNews Man of the Match: Leif Davis. Davis returned from a three-match suspension for this game and showed, in an attacking sense, what Town have missed during his absence. Davis was granted plenty of space down the left-hand side, hit the post with an effort in the early stages and had a goal in stoppage time ruled out for a marginal offside. He could also count himself unlucky not to add to his two assists so far this season.