adminLeicester City finally gave their supporters something to celebrate on Saturday afternoon, but the 4-3 victory over Stockport County has done little to completely silence the concerns surrounding Russell Martin.
The Foxes held on for a hard-fought victory at Edgeley Park in a hugely entertaining encounter, picking up only their second win of the Sky Bet League One season.
Liam Cullen gave Leicester the perfect start in the 11th minute when he brilliantly controlled Louis Page’s pass before firing into the bottom corner.
Stockport responded through Jack Diamond, who latched on to Lewis Bate’s pass and drilled his effort into the bottom corner for his fourth goal of the season.
Leicester, however, regained control before half-time.
Emil Riis restored the visitors’ lead on the half-hour mark, running on to another pass from Page before dinking the ball over the advancing Ollie Whatmuff.
Riis then struck again just three minutes after the break, cutting inside from the left before smashing a long-range effort past the Stockport goalkeeper.
Things got even better for Martin’s side moments later when debutant John Lundstram was left unmarked and headed home from Page’s corner to make it 4-1.
At that stage, Leicester appeared to have done enough to secure a comfortable victory.
But the game suddenly became far more uncomfortable.
Ollie Norwood pulled one back for Stockport in the 57th minute with a cleverly taken free-kick before Kyle Wootton made it 4-3 with a tap-in on his 200th appearance for the club.
Leicester were eventually able to hold on for the three points, with Stockport unable to find the equaliser.
The result means Leicester have now won just two of their opening six League One matches, while Stockport have three wins and three defeats from their first six games.
And despite the victory, some Leicester supporters were far from convinced by what they had seen.
One frustrated fan pointed to the number of goals Leicester have been conceding and questioned why Martin continues to use a similar defensive setup.
The supporter wrote: “Same here ffs, knew if we won, which I’m glad about, everyone would be on the Russell Martin bandwagon. We conceded five today, two offside, and four against Oxford. Why has he played a similar defence ffs!”
That reaction highlights the major concern that could overshadow Leicester’s important victory.
While the four goals scored will undoubtedly please Martin, conceding three after taking a 4-1 lead leaves serious questions about Leicester’s defensive organisation.
For some supporters, Saturday’s result is therefore not simply a reason to jump back on the Russell Martin bandwagon.
It is another warning that Leicester may still have major defensive problems to solve, despite finally getting back to winning ways.
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