Leicester City continued their pre-season preparations with a victory over Port Vale at Vale Park last night.
Martyn Waghorn scored the only goal of the game after 15 minutes as City produced a decent display against former manager Micky Adams' side.
City manager Nigel Pearson did not make a single substitution as he made his players prepare for the big kick-off to the season in less than two weeks with a full 90 minutes.
Pearson named a strong line-up and City again adopted the 5-3-2 three centre-back system with wing-backs, which they employed at Leamington in their first outing of the summer.
Ritchie De Laet and Paul Konchesky provided the width either side of Sean St Ledger, Wes Morgan and Zak Whitbread.
Neil Danns, Andy King and Ben Marshall were in the midfield engine room, while Jamie Vardy and Martyn Waghorn were twinned as City's strike force.
City dominated the first period against their League One opponents, who failed to really threaten City's rear-guard.
The wing-back role seems to really suit De Laet's natural attacking tendency, and he provided the cross in the second minute which Waghorn headed wide.
But Waghorn has started pre-season well and scored his second goal in as many friendlies when he collected King's slide-rule pass in the 15th minute and slipped the ball past keeper Chris Neal with the outside of his foot. It was a clever finish from a player with plenty to prove this season.
Chris Lines briefly threatened with a low strike, which Kasper Schmeichel had to get down to save, but City were going through the gears and Ben Marshall should have doubled their advantage.
King was again the provider with a telling pass to put the former Stoke City man through one-on-one with Neal but, although he beat the advancing keeper, his effort drifted wide of the far post.
Danns, another at the crossroads of his City career, had Neal beaten with a dipping strike from 25-yards out on the stroke of half-time, but his shot also beat the bar by inches.
City almost added a second seven minutes after the break when they broke quickly from defending a corner and Waghorn picked out Vardy's run. He raced into the box and clipped the ball over Neal, but his effort came back off the foot of the post.
City were hit on the break themselves and Chris Birchall wasted a great chance to equalise for the hosts in the 63rd minute when he was sent clear by Chris Sucker, but he placed his finish wide of the post.
But City were still the more dangerous side and Marshall was growing more influential. He played in De Laet on 72 minutes and Neal had to produce a good save to deny the wing-back.
The final minutes of the game were played out quietly, although King had a decent chance from close range he could not take and Vardy flashed a half-volley wide. But this was a decent display from City in only their second run-out of the pre-season.
The rest of the City squad will be in action tonight when City travel to take on York at Bootham Crescent, before they entertain big-spending AS Monaco at the King Power Stadium on Saturday.
City team: Kasper Schmeichel, Ritchie De Laet, Sean St Ledger, Wes Morgan, Zak Whitbread, Paul Konchesky; Ben Marshall, Andy King, Neil Danns; Jamie Vardy, Martin Waghorn.
Subs: Marko Futacs, Adam Smith, Jamie Anton, Jacob Blyth, Michael Cain, Joe Dodoo.
Referee: Steve Rushton.
Attendance: 1,894.
