Leicester City have boosted their hopes of survival in the Premier League after securing a comfortable 3-0 win over Newcastle United, who had two players sent off in the second half at the King Power Stadium this afternoon.
The Foxes needed less than 40 seconds to open the scoring as the home side won a corner just moments after kickoff, leaving Leonardo Ulloa to break free in the box and head past Tim Krul.
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The striker put the visiting keeper under pressure again moments later as he rose high for a head again, but this time his finish was straight at the Dutch international.
Leicester did add a second shortly after though as Daryl Janmaat gave away a free kick in a dangerous position, allowing Jamie Vardy to deliver it into the box for captain Wes Morgan to scuff over the line.
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Newcastle started to show more intent going forward towards the end of the first half, with Emmanuel Riviere taking a couple of shots while Ryan Taylor forced a save from Kasper Schmeichel, but the Magpies could not get a goal back before the break.
It did not take Nigel Pearson's side long to extend their lead after the break as Riviere bundled Marcin Wasilewski down in the penalty area, giving the hosts a spot kick.
Ulloa lined it up and picked out the top left corner, leaving Krul stretching in the right direction but unable to keep it out.
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The keeper had to be alert to deny Ulloa his hat-trick inside the hour as the Argentine striker tried to head in from just a few feet out, but Krul's reactions were enough to deny him.
Vardy could have added a fourth a few minutes later when he rounded a couple of defenders with ease before attempting to chip the ball beyond Krul, but the keeper just did enough to keep it out.
Any hopes that John Carver had of his side coming back were soon quashed as the visitors were reduced to 10 men with just under half-an-hour remaining, with Mike Williamson having picked up his second booking for a foul on Vardy, which left the winger clattering into a TV camera.
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Chances remained few and far between in the final 15 minutes as Newcastle just tried to reach full time without letting in any more goals, but there was a further blow at the start of stoppage time as Janmaat also picked up a second yellow card, leaving the visitors to finish the match with just nine men on the pitch.
The result moves Leicester up to 16th in the table, four points clear of the relegation zone, while Newcastle are 14th with just a point more.
Sian Cowper
