VARDY BOOSTS 'UGLY' FOXES

RELIEVED boss Enzo Maresca hailed an ‘important win’ after his Leicester side ended a run of three straight defeats with a hard-fought victory at Sunderland on Tuesday night.

- John Lyons

With the chasing pack closing in, the Foxes badly needed a victory in the north-east and they secured it thanks to Jamie Vardy’s 13th-minute header. A clean sheet was also just what Maresca wanted after the recent blip.

“It’s an important win,” admitted Maresca, “especially after three defeats in a row. Sometimes you have to win games in an ugly way.

“(In the) first half we were quite good. In the second half we suffered, but, in this moment, the win is so important.”

It was just as well Leicester won as their closest rivals also picked up three points. Second-placed Ipswich showed their resilience to come from behind twice in the second half to beat Bristol City at the death in a Portman Road thriller.

Anis Mehmeti (54 mins) and Tommy Conway (77) gave the visiting Robins the lead, but the Tractor Boys roared back with goals from Ali Al-Hamadi (62) – who also saw an 86th-minute penalty saved by Max O’Leary - Conor Chaplin (80) and Leif Davis (89).

Believing