September 2005

City 2 Portsmouth 1
August 27th 2005 att. 41,022

City made just one change from the last game Nedum Onuoha coming in for Jordan
Having spent 24 hours at the top of the league a win against Portsmouth would mean City would be in second place in the Premiership. I bet not many supporters from John Wardle downwards could have expected this when Stu Pearce took over from KK. I know we haven't played any of the 'top three' yet but such is the team ethic at COMS now anything is possible.
A disappointing crowd today. Lots of blank spaces I am afraid and they did not get going until the second half
City almost took the lead in the opening minutes. Sinclair was brought down on the right wing and Musampa swept in a good free-kick
With his back to goal Andrew Cole flicked the ball over his head and Westerveld had to stretch back to block the ball and dive on the ball as it dropped .
Lone striker Lua Lua was proving a handful for the City defence and always needed to be closely marked
James had little to do early on as Portsmouth just relied on breakaways.
City had a new electronic scoreboard making its debut - diagonally opposite the existing one.
Vassell in action at this City corner
An expert at shielding the ball Cole is held by a Pompey defender unnoticed by the referee
A contrast in managers - a suited 'Reggie' Perrin on the left and tracksuited Stu Pearce directing his team on the right.
Sinclair attempts to block a shot
Although City were having more of the play and plenty of corners they could,not break down the Pompey defence. City conceded few corners and were generally containing the odd Portsmouth attack
A break down the left by Robert nearly gave the visitors the lead, with Lua Lua narrowly missing the cross
Cole again causing anxiety in the visitors goal box
A Pompey defender has his ear close to the ground - obviously listening to instructions from his manager
At the end of the first half Vassell broke away and his shot hit the side netting. Pity he didn't notice 2 players waiting in the middle.
Jihai Sun replaced Mills at half time and gave a free kick away near the touch line. Robert swept in a strong cross and Viafara dashed past Barton to head past James who was going the wrong way. Surely a man on the near post would have prevented this danger. Any free kick by Robert spells danger. Still he did little else all game. Portsmouth one up against the run of play after 52 minutes.
In extra time Jihai Sun almost gave away an equaliser by a loose throw-in on the half way line which went to the opposition and gave them a breakaway.
Jihai Sun shows more energy and attacking ideas down the right
Westerveld punches clear from Cole
City equalised after 66 minutes. A cross from Joey Barton was mishandled by Westerveld -above left - and Reyna following up cracked the loose ball into the net. 1-1 and all to play for.
Three minutes later City took the lead. A long cross from Thatcher was headed clear but only to Sinclair who returned the ball into the middle first time. 'Cole the Goal' with his back to goal swiveled and shot past the keeper to turn the game round. Brilliant!
Andrew Cole ran towards his manager followed by the rest of the team to celebrate a super goal A team effort indeed.
City should have sealed the victory with more goals, Cole just failing to connect with this one
Portsmouth had a few tries at an equaliser but without success.
Stuart Pearce obviously in tune with the ongoing 'Ashes' series signals a six
So, City's unbeaten run under Stu Pearce goes to 12 games with the next against Glazer United at the swamp. I am sure Cole will want to score against his old club so a point or three there will keep us up in the top three with the next home game against Bolton. Mills' distribution leaves much to be desired and though one can never deny his enthusiasm there was an improvement when Sun came on. If Sun can cut out the odd stupid foul or thoughtless throw-in he is an asset to the team. Onuoha was OK as a deputy for Distin but he must release the ball quicker when he wins it. But he is young and will learn -the potential is there, The link up play between Vassell and Cole continues to improve and their close passing infront of goal will cause problems to many sides.
Bartons discipline continues to improve without affecting his efficiency in midfield. He put in some great passes. Reyna worked his socks off and deserved his goal. Andrew Cole is proving a revelation. He might have scored three with luck and Fowler is going to find it difficult to get his place back
James 7: Mills 5, ( Sun 6.5 ) , Dunne 7 , Onuoha 7, Thatcher 7.5: Sinclair 7, Reyna 7.5, Barton 7, Musampa 6.5: Vassell 7.5, Cole 8:
Back to City 2005-6
Back to City
City 0 Bolton 1
September 18th 2005 att. 43,137
Unbelievable! It would take the combined forces of CSI New York, Miami and Vegas to solve this crime of the century! Bolton who had been outplayed for most of the game stole all three points in the very last minute of extra time to end City's run of unbeaten games. As I wound my way down the exit from the third tier I heard cries of ' My God they've got a penalty'. I could not face dashing back for this. Losing two points in a game we dominated was bad enough - losing all three was terrible. I cannot remember seeing a game when one side hit the woodwork so many times without scoring. It wasn't a good day for the stand-in P. A. announcer either who made a pigs ear of the Bolton team and later the changes. Oh and the new scoreboard was not working either . Incidentally when they make announcements about cars they are always Mercs or BMW's why no Skodas or Morris Traveler's!
The crowd gave a big welcome to Andrew 'Freddy' Flintoff England's hero in the Ashes win over Australia. Pics from a day at the Old Trafford Test HERE
Stu Pearce receives his Manager-of-the-Month award.
I was told that in addition to Flintoff, Bert Trautmann and SWP would be attending. Spotted Bert in the crowd- in the centre I think (should he not have been introduced to the crowd) but not SWP ( probably kept a very low profile!)
The absence of Cole - presumably a late injury - gave Sibierski a chance to start the game. Otherwise City were unchanged.
City v Bolton
The early skirmishes gave no hint of the drama to come with both keepers having to punch clear from corners
A long ball from defence found a marked Vassell who nodded the ball clear to Sibierski who let fly from just inside the area but Jaaskelainen somehow managed to block the shot. The Finish keeper had had the nerve a few minutes earlier to take to drink from a trainer near the touchline instead of taking a free-kick. Was this some wonder potion to protect his goal we wondered as the game progressed ? Something else for the CSI experts to investigate!
After 22 minutes City suffered a big blow when Trevor Sinclair who had been on good form suffered a bad injury and had to be stretchered from the pitch. He was replaced by Jihai Sun as Lee Croft -the obvious choice was not on the bench. This upset the balance of the side and often Sun looked a bit lost.
One of the few chances Bolton created came after 16 minutes following a long throw. A centre found Davies (14) unmarked but his header was saved by James.
On the half hour Bolton had a lucky escape. A great cross ball from Barton found Sibierski's head and the ball beat the Bolton keeper to hit the bar bounce up and hit the bar a second time much to the dismay of the City fans.
Good combination on the right ended with a good cross by Mills - yes I did say that - Sibierski outjumped two Bolton defenders and his header again beat the keeper but hit the bar! Just what was that magic potion Jussi?
At this corner Sibierski decides to do a head stand while Jaaskelainen appears to be throttling Mills - that'll teach him for putting in a good cross! More work for the CSI I think.
A few minutes into the second half and Joey Barton took a pass from Musampa and shot past Jussi J only to see the ball hit the bottom of the post. Unbelievable!
Six minutes into the second half and Davies brings down Joey Barton and gets a booking. Barton is one of City's most improved players. Since his troubles he has come on in leaps and bounds . His passing has improved a lot and he is a power in midfield . Has formed a good combination with Reyna
Minutes later Reyna had a shot from close range but Jaaskelainen manages to poke a foot out and deflect the ball wide
Yet another corner to City and yet another near squeak for Bolton. There was only one team in it
A shot in the final minutes from Jihai Sun crashed against the crossbar with the keeper beaten. It was never going in today!
One of the few moments of worry to the City defence in the second half came after 60 minutes when a Campo shot following a corner was eventually saved by James in a ruck of players.
With 10 minutes to go Stephen Ireland came on for the battling Barton who went off to thunderous applause. Having just turned 19 Ireland was making his first Premiership appearance and what a ten minutes he had. Confident from the start he looked like he had been in the side from the start. What a prospect!
Ireland had a good shot saved by the Bolton keeper. What a debut he would have had should he have scored
City piled on the pressure but I am afraid the magic potion did the trick for Bolton and they won the game in the last minute of extra time with a penalty -
One can hardly fault the City team for effort and considering the fact they outplayed the Bolton side for much of the game having had nearly 60% of the play and hitting the bar 6 times ,City were unlucky but you must get the ball in the net. Would Andy Cole have put one of those chances away?. Maybe -we shall never know. The record will say Bolton won 1-0 but actually the woodwork and Jussi's potion did it for the visitors.
Team:
James 6: Mills 7, Dunne 7, Distin 8, Thatcher 7: Sinclair 5 (Sun 6), Barton 8 ( Ireland 7+), Reyna 8, Musampa 7: Sibierski 7, Vassell 7