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Leonardo Ulloa salvaged a draw for Leicester in injury time as the Foxes fought back against West Ham to move eight points clear at the top of the league.
From a Leicester perspective it was a game that shouldn’t have needed rescuing as referee Jon Moss produced numerous controversial decisions at the King Power Stadium.
A fast break from the Foxes allowed Jamie Vardy to score his 22nd goal of the campaign and put the hosts in front with a well-taken finish.
The match was then turned on its head when the Leicester forward was dismissed under contentious circumstances. Vardy looked to have been harshly booked earlier on with a tackle but when he tangled with Angelo Ogbonna in the second half, Jon Moss felt he deserved a second yellow for simulation.
This undoubtedly changed the game as Leicester were put under more pressure as the clock ran down and they found themselves on the end of another big refereeing decision inside the final ten minutes.
Wes Morgan was adjudged to have pulled back Winston Reid at a corner and the referee felt it was worthy of a penalty to West Ham; a chance Andy Carroll took with six minutes of regulation time to play.
In a cruel fashion the Foxes fell behind two minutes later as a fine strike from Aaron Cresswell looked to have gifted the visitors a big three points.
This was unfamiliar territory for Leicester as they haven’t been behind for more than 47 minutes since the end of October and they had to dig deep to rediscover their fight from the early stages of the season.
After Robert Huth was denied what looked a clear penalty, Jon Moss awarded a spot-kick to Leicester for a lesser offence when Andy Carroll nudged Jeffrey Schlupp over in the box.
Under immense pressure, Ulloa stepped up and converted the penalty with great composure five minutes into injury time.
Both Leicester and West Ham will feel aggrieved at the decisions that went against them as many have claimed this is one of the worst refereeing performances in recent times.
As a result, the Foxes will be without Vardy for next week’s visit of Swansea and Ulloa will be expected to start in his place.
While Leicester may feel they would have got the three points with 11 men on the field, this could prove to be a vital point in the title race and the late equaliser will elevate the players’ confidence even more.
