Two late goals helped Leicester City earn a 2-0 victory at Brighton and Hove Albion in the Premier League on Saturday.
The game at the Amex Stadium seemed to be heading for stalemate as both sides struggled for any fluidity, but it came to life in the final stages as first Glenn Murray's 77th-minute penalty kick was saved and then Vicente Iborra put Leicester ahead with seven minutes left.
Leicester finished the match with 10 men after Wilfred Ndidi was sent off with three minutes to go, but that didn’t stop Jamie Vardy adding a second in stoppage time to make sure of a second successive away win for eighth-placed Leicester.
Brighton dropped to 13th after a first home defeat in five games in all competitions.
Brighton’s January signing Juergen Locadia was handed his first Premier League start down the right flank in place of the suspended Anthony Knockaert and looked as dangerous as any in the opening exchanges.
It took until the 37th minute for the game’s first big chance to arrive, but Murray missed the target with the goal at his mercy.
The hosts came out for the second half with added impetus and again came close to an opener just a minute after the break, when Pascal Gross was denied by a fine stop from Schmeichel.
Brighton continued to press, and the pressure told as Jose Izquierdo earned his side a penalty with less than a quarter of an hour to go.
Up stepped Murray, who had previously converted four penalties in the Premier League already this season, but his effort was saved by Schmeichel.
“There will be nobody more down than Glenn,” Brighton manager Chris Hughton said. “It is an opportunity -- you either score or you don’t. These things happen.”
Schmeichel’s stop -- his third Premier League penalty save, as many as his serial trophy-winning father, Peter -- rejuvenated Leicester, with Iborra heading in his second goal in as many league games after the visitors had attacked en masse.
Their task was made more difficult as Ndidi picked up a second yellow card after bringing down Shane Duffy, but Vardy’s tap-in at the back post, after great work from Demarai Gray to pick him out, made sure of the three points to bring an end to Brighton’s home winning streak.
(Editing by Neville Dalton)
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