Blue Army column by Steve Pumfrey: Narrow margins so vital

The bloke in the seat next to me at the Walkers Stadium on Saturday watches a lot of Derby County matches, I know that because I took him to this game.

And he was the unlikely source for more compelling evidence that Leicester City's promotion push may well end in glorious triumph and a return to the promised land of the Premier League.

Back in the 2006-07 season, Derby won the Championship play-off final against West Brom through a strike from Stephen Pearson. It was the most vital of 20 successes by a one-goal margin in a total of 25 wins.

City have won 15 times so far this season and 12 of their victories have also come through managing to score one more goal than their opponents, the latest being Martyn Waghorn's strike to earn maximum points against Cardiff.

"Keep getting those kind of results like Derby did and you'll be fine," said my companion.

So chipping away with narrow victories could be the winning formula.

City's run-in may prove to be a dogged push to get over the line after a couple of stumbles, rather than a spectacular burst on the finishing straight, but the Blue Army will not care a jot as long as they are off to Arsenal and Manchester United next season.

By coincidence, two members of the Derby promotion side that season now wear the blue and white of Leicester, with Steve Howard scoring in three successive 1-0 victories for the Rams during that successful spell at Pride Park.

He is more of a bit-part player at City these days, with a second-half appearance off the bench against the Bluebirds.

The other ex-Ram is Matt Oakley and he had the pleasure on Saturday of leaving the pitch to a standing ovation after a performance full of craft, guile and vision.

Oakley played a significant part in the single-goal victory which flattered Cardiff. It was a big 1-0 to City with a couple of goal-line clearances and a spot-kick denial keeping the scoreline down.

Cardiff may have been without the suspended Michael Chopra, but the City fans who travelled to south Wales for an FA Cup tie in January must be wondering how on earth they conceded four goals to Dave Jones's side.

As City kept a clean sheet, the Blue Army were full of praise for the outstanding Jack Hobbs and acknowledged the covering role played by Morrison when the unfortunate Alex Bruce had to go off injured and he switched across to centre-back.

Cardiff are pretty prolific from free-kicks, particularly 19-goal Peter Whittingham, but they did not threaten from a set-play until the 42nd minute. A lot of that was down to the excellence of Hobbs.

"You can tell our manager was a centre-half because Hobbs is getting better and better by the week. He's my player of the season," said one big convert to the former Liverpool man.

The second half may not have brought the further goals that City deserved, but there was a chance for the fans to have a longer look at Nobby Solano, albeit in an unfamiliar right-back role, and there were plenty of approving nods, particularly over the Peruvian's passing ability.

There was also a first chance to assess latest recruit James Vaughan. He got a good reception during his touchline warm-ups and his involvement in the final half-hour carried enough promise to suggest the Everton loanee can play a significant role in the promotion push.

"I've been impressed," concluded my neighbour, who had watched Vaughan during his brief loan spell at Pride Park earlier in the season. "Not just with him, but the whole team."