West Ham’s week of controversy ended with some relief after Craig Dawson scored a late equalizer off his shoulder to earn a 2-2 draw against Leicester in the Premier League after Kurt Zouma pulled out in the warmup at King Power Stadium on Sunday. (More Football News)
Dawson salvaged a point in the first minute of second-half stoppage time after Jarrod Bowen put the Hammers ahead in the 10th.
Youri Tielemans’ 45th-minute penalty made it 1-1 before Ricardo Pereira’s header appeared to clinch Leicester’s first win in five matches in all competitions.
Zouma was named in the team but reported to be feeling sick with problems with his vision, so substitute Issa Diop started instead with goalkeeper Darren Randolph making up the bench.
Zouma’s withdrawal came at the end of a week that saw him fined two weeks’ wages and lose Adidas as a sponsor after he was filmed kicking and slapping his cat. Two cats have been removed from his property and an animal charity has launched an investigation.
West Ham seemed unaffected by the late change to the team and settled quickly before taking the lead.
Diop lofted the ball forward and Leicester’s defense was caught napping as Bowen controlled before firing a left-footed drive across Kasper Schmeichel for his ninth league goal of the season.
It was Bowen’s seventh goal in as many games, making it 12 in all competitions this season.
Leicester, short of confidence after three defeats in its last four including a hammering at second-tier Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup, struggled early on and its supporters were quick to show their frustration with pockets of boos around the stadium.
The home side gradually improved, with Tielemans and Harvey Barnes both off target with angled shots from distance.
The equalizer came in the 45th minute after Leicester was awarded a penalty as Aaron Cresswell handled as he tried to head away James Maddison’s corner on the edge of the six-yard box.
Tielemans confidently drove the spot kick low to the right of Lukasz Fabianski, who guessed correctly but was beaten by the power and accuracy of the shot.
Leicester began the second half with much more purpose than the first and soon put West Ham under pressure.
Barnes was the dangerman, with one of his several crosses leading to Leicester’s second goal. Ricardo beat Cresswell to plant a bullet header into the top corner of the net.
Tielemans flashed a rising shot just wide as Leicester sought a third goal but, after Hammers substitute Said Benrahma produced two efforts, the visitors salvaged a point when Bowen’s corner went in off Dawson’s upper arm, looping high into the net.
