Stevenson brightens Foxes' future

With little else to play for except regional pride, a Filbert Street crowd aptly fit for the Nationwide League – just shading 18,000 – at least saw another, happier, omen for the future in 19-year-old Jon Stevenson, whose 67th-minute equaliser ensured relegated Leicester City kept up their impressive home record against Aston Villa yesterday.

Villa's fans, awaiting their first top-flight victory in this part of the East Midlands since 1987, should have returned to Birmingham sated. "We had enough chances to have won two games," Graham Taylor said. "We should have been 4-1 up at half-time. It would have been just reward." Instead Villa's contingent settled for taunting their Leicester counterparts with, "We'll meet again, don't know where, don't know when".

They were also looking for an improvement on a distinctly average record of one win in 10 matches under Taylor. The chances of that were improved with the restoration to the starting line-up of the England striker Darius Vassell after a three-match absence, partnered by England Under-21 forward Peter Crouch.

The two then combined after 22 minutes to put Villa ahead, Crouch bringing the ball under control before slipping his pass into the path of Vassell, who drilled a low shot across Ian Walker.

But Leicester, boosted by the return of the midfielder Muzzy Izzet, striker Paul Dickov and captain Matt Elliott after injury, levelled just three minutes later through an Izzet penalty, after JLloyd Samuel's reckless tackle on Lee Marshall.

Their joy was short, however, as Thomas Hitzlsperger's jinking run and shot put Villa back ahead almost immediately. The German beat Marshall and Stefan Oakes before slotting a low shot past Walker for his maiden Villa goal.

The Foxes' manager, Micky Adams, who admitted "Villa were the better team", introduced young Jon Ashton and Stevenson for Marshall and Oakes on 51 minutes. And it paid dividends a quarter-hour later when Stevenson latched on to Robbie Savage's pass to beat, at the second attempt, Peter Enckelman.

Villa's George Boateng, perhaps sensing a City win, decided to handicap Dickov by throwing his boot into the crowd in the dying minutes, an act of frustration for which the Dutchman may soon find himself in front of an FA hearing.

But for Leicester the performance of another lively youngster, winger Matthew Piper, suggests their future, albeit in the Nationwide, may not be so bleak after all.