1st May 2011 – The Etihad Stadium
Teams:
West Ham: Green, Gabbidon, Tomkins, Upson (Da Costa 26), Spector, Jacobsen, Hitzlsperger, Boa Morte (Obinna 79), Sears, Ba, Keane (Cole 66) 4
Manchester City: Hart, Kompany, Zabaleta, Kolarov, Lescott, Johnson, Barry (Dzeko 74), Silva, De Jong (Milner 46), Y Toure, Balotelli (Viera 86)
Score: Manchester City 2 – 1 West Ham United
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The last time we lined up against Roberto Mancini’s men, we all but had the ‘R’ for relegation next to our name on the Premier League Table. We were rock bottom of the league, and the Championship beckoned.
Manchester City opened the scoring, with De Jong scoring his first ever goal for the Blues after a Kolorov corner bounced off Thomas Hitzlsperger and into the path of the waiting De Jong. Greeno’s dive did nothing to stop the path of the ball, and it was 1-0 to City. And the misery wasn’t over yet. Four minutes later, Zabaleta and Silva played a nifty one-two, and caught Greeno unawares again. Jacobsen tried to make a last-ditch clearance, but only ended up following the ball into the net.
Demba Ba (I still miss him too) brought the Hammers back into touching distance of a point, when his spinning shot beat Joe Hart. West Ham were unlucky to not get a penalty as well, as Lescott got away with a handball in the box.
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But the boys in claret and blue just couldn’t do the business in the second half, and City hung on for the three points. Maybe it would have helped our strategy if Grant didn’t throw his notes all over the floor, but there we go!
Is it just me, or does it seem like we’ve grown a hell of a lot since this match? Our starting line-up is a lot better, and of course we’ve got rid of Upson and Agent Keane, who should have scored in a one on one with Joe Hart in the match.
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The game also asked questions of the West Ham board, who were a no-show to the match. Sullivan simply replied that they would be there for the ‘last three games.’ Well, those last three didn’t go too well either and so West Ham were sent packing to the Championship, while Manchester City took their spot in the Champions League.
How far do you think we’ve come since this match? Tweet me at @alwaysintune or leave a comment.
