Leicester 2 Ipswich 0: Jamie Vardy scores 200th goal on 500th appearance exactly 13 years after joining Foxes
WHERE do you want your statue Jamie Vardy?
That’s the only unfinished bit of business this living legend has left to complete after bringing down the curtain on his extraordinary 13-year love affair with Leicester.
Fittingly the 38-year-old bowed out brilliantly, scoring his 200th Leicester goal on his 500th appearance – 13 years to the day since he signed from Fleetwood Town.
Talk about tying it all up neatly with a blue ribbon!
Vardy had already missed a couple of half-chances when James Justin burst through the Ipswich defence and timed his final pass to perfection.
Suddenly Vardy was off and we all knew what was going to happen next – hand him a hat-trick of chances and one will invariably end up in the net.
There was never any chance the old Fox was going to fluff his lines on his big day.
Sure enough, he rolled the ball beyond Alex Palmer to spark bedlam in the stands as the King Power rose to him for one final goal celebration.
They were celebrating again midway through the second half when Kasey McAteer doubled the Foxes lead.
Then with 10 minutes remaining Ruud Van Nistelrooy made a double substitution which included bringing Vardy off for Patson Daka.
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With the sound of the crowd singing his name, Vardy trudged off and every Leicester player lined up level with the halfway line to form a guard of honour.
“Thank You Vards,” flashed up on the scoreboards as the veteran took his well-earned seat on the bench.
Job done… as always.
From the moment he arrived to that fateful moment when he waved goodbye and disappeared down the tunnel for the final time as a Fox, this was the Jamie Vardy show.
Virtually every fan’s shirt had the name Vardy 9 or Legend 9 emblazoned on their back.
There were banners with Vardy’s name and image waved by dozens of flag-bearers to greet him when he led Leicester out.
The scoreboard flashed up “Goodbye GOAT.” And every home fan had been presented with a banner with the message: “Thank You Vards,” printed on it.
However, Kieran McKenna’s Ipswich clearly hadn’t received the memo and came out determined to spoil the farewell party.
Unfortunately for them they simply don’t possess a finisher of Vardy’s stature.
They dominated the opening 20 minutes and the old boy had to wait patiently for his first touch.
Julio Enciso sent Leif Davis free on the left and, although the full-back’s initial shot was blocked by Coady, his attempt from the rebound was much better.
His fiercely hit shot beat Jakub Stolarczyk but bounced off the inside of the post and flew to safety.
Sam Morsy shot over and Enciso screwed another attempt wide before the roof was raised after 20 minutes when Vardy finally had the chance to stretch his legs.
Jordan Ayew sent the veteran sprinting through on goal and suddenly everyone in the King Power Stadium was on their feet roaring him on.
However, on this occasion Davis was Vardy’s match as he sprinted back to force him wide and the striker’s shot flew off target.
The great man followed that up a couple of minutes later, firing into the side netting following a neatly worked free kick after he turned Morsy.
Vardy was getting closer and closer as he smelled blood.
And sure enough the fairytale was assured a happy ending when he struck after 28 minutes.
Justin played a huge part with the assist, as the full-back closed down Jack Clarke so swiftly he lost his footing and he pounced on the ball and surged forward past two Tractor Boys.
Vardy hared off and Justin timed his delivery to perfection as he rolled the ball in front of him.
And the hitman showed his killer instinct to hold off his marker and expertly roll the ball beyond Palmer and into the net.
Then off he darted to celebrate in front of the dumbstruck Ipswich fans, lifting the corner flag out of its socket and raising it aloft high above his head – like a conquering warrior.
It was the only sign the 38-year-old had shown of flagging on his big day.
And it’s going to be intriguing to see if some manager gives him his wish to spend another year in the Prem next season.
On this season’s form he is worth another fling, after he finished the season as the Foxes top scorer with 10 goals in a struggling, relegated team.
Leicester’s other goal came from McAteer who took a Wilfred Ndidi pass in his path to lash the ball in at Palmer’s near post.
Ndidi was also taken off near the end to take the acclaim of the fans on his final appearance for the Foxes.
He did his bit, setting up 23-year-old McAteer for his first-ever Premier League goal.
The winger only needs another 144 to match Vardy’s Prem tally.
Good luck with that one, mate.