Jamie Vardy came off the bench to earn 10-man Leicester a draw at Brighton on Saturday and he believes the togetherness of the Foxes shone through in tough circumstances.
The visitors were a goal and a man down inside half an hour at the AMEX Stadium as Glenn Murray headed Brighton in front before James Maddison was sent off after picking up two yellow cards in two minutes.
Leicester rallied in the rain and were deserving of the 1-1 draw sealed by substitute Vardy from the penalty spot after Kelechi Iheanacho had been tripped by Beram Kayal.
Vardy was only deemed fit enough for the bench having suffered a groin injury against Burnley before the international break but praised the work ethic of the whole Leicester side as they left the south coast with a share of the spoils.
“I think it was a good point to get,” Vardy told the club’s official website.
“Obviously, being down to 10 men and 1-0 down, you’ve seen how the lads have battled together and how we’ve taken it to Brighton even though we were reduced to 10.
“I think with that performance, especially in the second half, we definitely deserved it. It’s just testament to all the boys and how close we are as a group.
“Everyone will run themselves into the ground for each other and that showed on the pitch.”
Leicester have now had four red cards in the Premier League this season and manager Claude Puel admits his players need to manage their games more intelligently if they are carrying a booking.
Maddison was shown his first caution for a petulant trip on Kayal before he was given his marching orders moments later for diving.
The midfielder took to Instagram on Saturday night to apologise for his misdemeanour – insisting he will learn his lesson as a result.
“Apologies to everyone for what happened today,” he wrote. “Nobody wants to see diving in our beautiful game. I was anticipating contact that never came, but that’s no excuse.
“It’s a mistake and I will learn from it. Lads showed fantastic fight and determination to get us back in the game and go home with a more than deserved point.”
While Vardy was able to rest and recuperate for two weeks having stepped down from England duty, Brighton defender Lewis Dunk went into the contest buoyed by making his debut for the Three Lions in the 3-0 win over the United States.
After failing to help the Seagulls to a clean sheet and a first win in three, the 27-year-old will be keeping fully focused on club matters in the coming months.
“We’re frustrated with ourselves – they deserved the point and we didn’t deserve any more than that,” he told brightonandhovealbion.com.
“The last few weeks have been a bit of a whirlwind, but I just want that to continue. My focus is firmly on here now – there isn’t an international break until March and we have a busy Christmas period in a tough league.
“I feel like I’m doing well but you can always do better, it’s up to me to keep working hard to stay there now – I’ve had the taste of England that drives you on with a hunger.”
