A Classic on Coronation Street

By Peter Gilbert

Manchester City 0 Leicester City 1

Savage 52

Whenever I think of Man. City I think Moss Side, The Gallaghers, Harry Enfield’s Mancs but also if you think about it; it’s Coronation Street country. The back streets of Greater Manchester, the real Manchester not the ‘Disneyland’ that exists across the city at Old Trafford. I imagine those streets in Wetherfield to be full of Man City fans and The Rovers Return to be a watering hole for those light blue shirts. Certainly the atmosphere in the ground is very real indeed, vociferous, belligerent, hostile, not a corporate image at all. Despite all this I felt at home in the environment, it was after all ‘real’ football country.

We started this game with Akinbiyi and Benjamin upfront, a permutation not previously tried by PT. After only a couple of minutes Izzett put Benjamin away and he worked himself a half chance but couldn’t convert.

It wasn’t long before Flowers had to distinguish himself with a good save from Dikov which must have impressed any international managers in the crowd.

Man City were certainly not going timidly into this game and ex Leicester player Spencer Prior drove his side forward in pursuit of royal blue blood.

Akinbiyi won a free kick on the edge of the box which Lennon slipped to Savage who’s cross was forced out for a corner which the Mancs were lucky to survive.

After rushing out of goal and punching the ball clear, Flowers was forced to receive treatment for what looked like a recurrence of his back trouble but he soldiered on. Our keeper admits he has a ‘dodgy back’ which might be a problem.

City were still having problems keeping hold of the ball in advanced positions which has been a problem all season, ‘if you can’t keep the ball in their territory you can’t hurt them.’

Lennon back in his old stomping ground did at least seem fired up for the occasion which was a definite plus after too many tepid performances this season.

Flowers continued to display pain and Royce began to seriously warm up and he looked ready to enter the fray. He would be keen to exorcise his last appearance between the sticks which must have given him a couple of sleepless nights, although on reflection he really couldn’t be blamed for any of the three goals Crystal Palace scored against us.

Savage was by now thoroughly enjoying abuse from the home fans and was well into his game of running and harassing. He was ably assisted by Izzett.

The Mancs applied more pressure which made Flowers wince with pain. A poor back pass from Davidson forced Flowers to give away a corner – just what you need with a bad back.

City for their part just couldn’t get hold of the ball, and the game settled into a ‘backs to the wall’ defensive grind for us.

The Mancs clearly sensed Flowers was struggling and they peppered his goal with shots from almost anywhere.

Akinbiyi and Benjamin seemed to be getting under each others’ feet and applied virtually no pressure on The Mancs defence. They both lack the confidence, the guile, the vision and frankly the class that Leicester City require if they are to maintain anything like their current position.

Can a side stay in the top six with no attackers?

Actually as I recall , France won The World Cup in 1998 with no strikers, however they did have ten other players who could pop up and score goals. Perhaps we ought to accept that we have no strikers and add an extra defender and midfield player.

Leicester’s game plan was relying heavily on their resilience, organisation and tenacity which even the enigmatic Wanchope couldn’t interrupt.

And yes it was happening; Leicester’s nine ‘other’ outfield players were bypassing the strikers with well judged power runs into the Mancs penalty area.

In the 3 minutes added on time City had further pressure to survive but we still managed to get in for a cup of tea on level terms.

Simon Royce however didn’t have a cuppa. He was out on the pitch warming up and surely he would be on unless the physios could re-build the Flowers back.

According to a nearby ‘anorak’ the Mancs have two nicknames; The Blues and The Citizens…….’Come on You Citizens!!’…..nah doesn’t sound right really.

Both teams appeared to be playing 3-5-3 and resumed the action in the second half by cancelling each other out. This game was going to take a piece of individual magic to break the deadlock.

Wanchope provided entertainment by nearly flicking the ball into his own goal from one of our corners.

The Mancs hit us on the break on a number of occasions as we continually lost possession of the ball in ‘their’ half.

Goal: In the 55th minute Benjamin won a free kick in a good position just 5 yards from the edge of the box which Lennon slipped to Savage. He shot right footed, Weaver saved, but the ball came back to ‘boyo’ and he returned it with interest via his left foot and the ball hit the back of the net at speed. Robbie’s first goal of the season.

Now…… just how well organised and belligerent can our defenders be, we anticipated a storm lashing at our door? Put the sandbags in place and hope for the best.

The Mancs brought left winger Mark Kennedy on, now Rowett would face a grilling and Royce would have high crosses to take.

Dikov broke free; shot, but Royce got a hand to it. With 25 mins to play the Mancs began their cavalry charge coming at us with pace and in numbers, the time was going to drag but we braced ourselves and stood firm.

Benjamin seized on a poor back pass, advanced on goal………and fell over.

Savage was now well up for it and was emerging as a very real regular outlet and constantly looked for the through ball.

Royce displayed certain ‘wild’ characteristics but poor finishing from the Mancs let him off the hook on several occasions.

Akinbiyi on the edge of the box got round Howey advanced on goal…………and fell over.

Kennedy crossed, Wanchope headed, Royce tipped it over. A succession of corners and scrambles followed but we survived them all.

10 mins left, I desperately looked for dispirited Mancs going home for a comforting pint in The Rover’s Return but there was no sign’. Clearly they sensed the situation was retrievable.

On came Gunnlaugsson to replace Benjamin, a bit of Icelandic magic would now be most acceptable.

We survived corner after corner, flailing feet lashed at the ball , City’s bodies beat it away, rallied advanced, lost it and went through the whole process all over again.

Gunnlaugsson showed great skill in midfield and following a mazy run he fed Akinbiyi who crossed well across the face of goal but no-one was there to take advantage.

5 mins left City started trying to play the clock down and retain possession which Gunnlaugsson for one was more than capable of doing.

Lennon now came into his own, fighting like a terrier over every blade of grass, he’d had a good game.

We went into 1 min added on and yes the Mancs were steaming out of the ground while their team came at us in droves and with power.

Gunnlaugsson broke away, chose not to feed Akinbiyi who was well placed and lost possession; but not to worry………the final whistle went and we sat nicely in 3rd place.

This was our 3rd win away from home this season and we still have only conceded 1 goal away from Filbert Street.

This was a magnificent victory, have no doubt about that. Away from home we are a force to be reckoned with and with 22 points so far; we only need 20 more to ensure Premiership survival !!!!!!! But a side like ours is genuinely only a couple of pieces of jigsaw away from being a genuine top six contender.

Player Performance

Flowers: Hurt his back early on stretching to punch a ball away, battled on but didn’t reappear in the second half.

Rowett: Quietly efficient.

Taggart: A welcome return for the belligerent Irishman – an essential element.

Sinclair: Much quieter this season, and better for it.

Elliott: Man Mountain

Davidson: His type of game, he’s very experienced.

Savage: Without him we stop ticking, he has the unique ability to wind up situations. Scored his first goal of the season, his celebrations were uplifting to us all.

Lennon: Back where he started in English football

Izzett: Lively impish, full of ideas, played a very good game.

Akinbiyi: Couldn’t trap a bag of cement, but worked his socks off, lacks confidence.

Benjamin: Big, muscly, puts himself about, lacks basic skills, but worked his socks off.

Subs:

Royce: Came on at the start of the second half.

Gunnlaugsson: Came on did his stuff; looked good.