By Jemma Tappenden
March 15 2008

After only picking up a point midweek to Palace, three points at home against Leicester City was a must for the Baggies to keep up the pressure on the teams above them. Mowbray made four changes to that midweek side, Phillips and Miller dropping to the bench to make way for Bednar and Moore, Martis in for Hodgkiss and a start for Do-Heon Kim

Despite ten minutes of heavy sustained Albion pressure, the Foxes very nearly snatched a cheeky goal.  Barry Hayles, a January signing from Plymouth Argyle stole in on a weak back header from Leon Barnett and rounded keeper Dean Kiely to look a certainty to score.  Luckily for Albion Barnett was quick to correct his earlier error, and raced back to block the strikers effort and concede only the corner. 

Just a couple of minutes later Matt Fryatt chanced his luck with a volley from 15 yards, and then moments later a 20 yard strike from Oakley was fired in, but posed no threat to Kiely in goal.  Albion soon quashed the early but brief spell of Leicester pressure, and it took a last ditch attempt from McAuley to deny Kim a chance from Bednar’s cross. 

McAuley was called into action for a second time just moments later, when a searching cross from Gera looked to be heading home from a Bednar shot.  But the Leicester man was on call to block.  But the Foxes were helpless to stop the eventual goal which finally arrived in the 22^nd minute. 

A loose ball, 25 yards out from goal was picked up by Robert Koren, who unleashed a ferocious shot which sailed past Leicester keeper Henderson after taking a wicked deflection of a Leicester defender. T

here was a big let off for the Albion in the 32^nd minute when Oakley in similar circumstances to Koren pounced on a loose ball 25 yards out.  He might have been wishing for a deflection as his right footed shot flied just inches wide of the target.  Three minutes later the Baggies found themselves down to ten men when on-loan striker Luke Moore was shown red for a nasty studs up challenge on Richard Stearman. 

Kiely pulled off a spectacular one handed save in the 37^th minute from a Fryatt 12 yard effort.  And moments later a short corner from Hayles found Mattock who provided a searching left wing cross to which McAuley rose high above the Baggies defence to fire in the equaliser. 

Albion at least finished the half on a high, Robinson stretching well to latch onto a Greening right wing free kick, being denied only by the finger tips of Henderson.  The resulting corner kick might have been more fruitful for the Baggies had Martin Albrechtsen not headed wastefully over. 

Half Time: West Bromwich Albion 1-1 Leicester City 

It was clear from the kick off of the second half that the Foxes intended to use their one man advantage to the full as both Howard and Hendrie fired early warning shots.  And in the 59^th minute they finally made that advantage pay as Howard converted a penalty kick after Greening was adjudged to have fouled Hendrie in the box. 

Albion were working hard to try and overcome a Leicester side with their ten men, but Leicester kept pressing.  Kisnorbo tested Kiely with a 20 yard volley from a partially cleared corner.  In the 62^nd minute Mowbray made a double substitution, Pele and MacDonald replacing Gera and Kim.  And seven minutes later he made his third substitution, bringing on leading scorer Kevin Phillips for Roman Bednar. 

With 15 minutes to go it looked as though Albion might get back into it, Phillips tried his luck from 18 yards but sae his effort deflect off Oakley and into the arms of Henderson.  With eleven minutes remaining Leicester secured their victory with a third goal, Oakley and Hendrie linking together well to play in Howard who made no mistake from 15 yards. 

With eight minutes to play things went from bad to worse for the Baggies as they were reduced to nine men.  No red card this time, but Leon Barnett hobbling off with a hamstring injury after Mowbray had used all three available substitutions.  In the 86^th minute Leicester made sure that all three points were going with them back to the East Midlands as Howard completed his hatrick from a Hayles throughball. 

Full Time: West Bromwich Albion 1-4 Leicester City 

Koren (22) 

McAuley (39) 

Howard (59 – pen, 79, 86) 

Attendance: 22,038.