Blue Army column by Paul Jones: Single defeat no reason to lose faith in Leicester City

"Was it a good game then?" asked the man on his way home from his day's graft, having missed the entertainment at the Walker's Stadium.

"It was if you were a West Brom fan," came the rather terse, conversation-ending response.

That hardly scratches the surface of Saturday's events which eventually saw City slide to a 2-1 defeat.

Matters should be put into perspective. A year ago the Baggies were in the Premier League while City were attempting to restore their pride after being shunted unceremoniously into League One.

So for the Foxes to take Albion to the wire, and that they did, is cause for cautious optimism. West Brom are one of the classier sides in a hugely demanding Championship and, make no mistake, City will play a lot worse than they did on Saturday and still pick up points.

The early attention fell on Joe Mattock's contribution, the young full-back having decided in the summer that, in his view, the grass is greener at the Hawthorns. But the regulation boo-ing and cat-calling that made it an uncomfortable afternoon for Mattock quickly became a sideshow as an intriguing game developed.

Albion looked slick, moving the ball around sharply. But City stood their ground and gave as good as they got, particularly with Martyn Waghorn and Matty Fryatt keeping the visitors' defence on their toes.

But in a matter of minutes, the whole afternoon went pear-shaped. City shipped two goals and also lost the services of Andy King and Matt Oakley.

"How did that happen?" gasped one fan as Graham Dorrans's free-kick skipped through a forest of legs to nestle in the bottom corner of the City net.

Nobody was quite sure, but there was no question about the cause of the second goal as Gonzalo Jara strode forward and lashed the ball in from 30 yards.

"You can't give players like him that type of space," was the general consensus among deflated home supporters.

Views at half-time differed widely.

"We've been poor," groaned one City fan, who appeared to have thrown in the towel along with his betting slip, 2-0 Leicester, first goal Fryatt apparently.

"They're nothing special," said another more optimistically.

"If we get one back, we'll get something out of it."

City ought to have done exactly that but Paul Gallagher missed a golden opportunity just after the break.

"How did he not score that?" wondered a young Leicester supporter, no doubt beginning to think it was not his side's day.

Albion could have added to their tally as they broke menacingly, only to be denied by Chris Weale or the woodwork.

By the time Bruno Berner did prod home for City, time had become their greatest enemy. A strike even five minutes earlier could have produced a barn-storming finish, but four minutes into the five of added-time was asking too much.

All in all, there was a feeling of frustration tinged with disappointment from the Leicester camp as the final whistle went, and that is understandable after City's good recent run.

Yet a 2-1 defeat in any game of football is not the be-all and end-all.

The sounding of the Last Post and the minute's silence respectfully observed by everyone in the ground before kick-off served as a reminder that, as much as we might love the game and our teams, there are significantly more important issues to consider. Lest we forget.