Enzo Maresca believes Leicester City were denied a “clear” penalty at a “crucial moment” in their 1-1 draw with Ipswich Town.
City had to settle for a point in the top-of-the-table clash at Portman Road after Sam Morsy equalised in stoppage time. But Maresca felt his team should have been offered a golden opportunity to go 2-0 up with a powerful penalty midway through the second half.
Stephy Mavididi, scorer of the first goal, pushed the ball behind to Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, who was pushed to the ground by Cameron Burgess just as he was about to latch onto a pass. The City midfielder and the fans protested loudly, but nothing was done.
Maresca was convinced it was a foul and said: ‘What do you think? We don’t need to waste words because the penalty was so clear.
“It was a decisive moment. We were 0:1 behind. There are moments during the game that are crucial. This moment was crucial. But the referee was there and decided there was no penalty and we carried on.”
Ipswich boss Kiernan McKenna disagreed and thought it was just strong defending by Burgess. He said: “In this case it was a Burgess foul: “I didn’t think that was the case when Cameron stepped over Dewsbury-Hall. I just thought he used his body well and let the ball run across both of their paths. I thought the referee managed the game well.”
City could argue that they deserved the three points because of the way they restricted Ipswich’s chances, but they could just as easily say that they got what they got after losing control of the game. In the last 25 minutes they allowed Ipswich to create the pressure that led to the late goal.
“It’s a shame because we are so close to winning another game,” said Maresca. “But at the same time, we expected to drop off a bit during the game. With so many games, it’s normal that when you play every three days, you can drop a bit.
“Overall, in 65 minutes, especially in the first half, we had three or four one-on-one chances with Pat, with Wilf, with Kiernan. We scored a goal. But then in the last ten or fifteen minutes we conceded a bit more, we let them control.
“But to play every three days, away in this stadium against this team that is doing fantastic, is normal. There are moments during the game when you have to be more clinical. To be honest, I’m happy.”