City 2 Tottenham 1

March 16, 2008

CITY manager Sven-Goran Eriksson was a relieved man after his side won for the first time in four matches, coming from behind to beat Tottenham 2-1 at Eastlands.

Robbie Keane had put the visitors ahead in the 32nd minute of this Barclays Premier League contest by clipping a left-footed shot past Joe Hart.

However, just before the hour Stephen Ireland poked home from close range before Nedum Onuoha's powerful 72nd-minute header clinched a first victory since the Manchester derby on February 10.

Ireland's strike ended a six-hour 14-minute goal drought stretching back to that success over United and provided the catalyst for a much-improved display from Eriksson's previously struggling side.

It was their first win in six home matches and their first victory over Tottenham since April 2003.

This was also only the second time this season City had won after going behind.

“It was extremely important for us, we had had three games with no goals and three games with one point,” said Eriksson.

“I don't think we played badly in the first half but we should have been more lively and shown less respect.

“I think we did it in the second half and scored two goals. I think if you look at the game we deserved to win it.”

There was a suspicion of offside about Ireland's goal, while Tottenham had a late Darren Bent goal ruled out by the assistant referee's flag when it was Dimitar Berbatov who was the offending player further over.

However, Eriksson said it was about time his side had some good luck.

“I don't remember when the linesman helped us the last time - it has been many times for the opposition,” said the Swede.

“I don't know if he did this time but I think we deserved to win, we created more chances than they did.”

On Ireland's goal he added: “It's very difficult to see. Even if it is offside I think Spurs owe us one or two offsides.”

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blueloon, Northwich (16/03/2008 at 22:38)

Well, it was three points

Steven Cumbo (16/03/2008 at 22:53)

Great win! Just a note about the idiot who sits behind me in block 132. For most of this season, he has done nothing but moan about every player, sven decision. Today took the biscuit. When stevie ireland scored the equaliser, he sat there as if we'd just conceded. Worst was to follow... when we scored again. He sat there with a face like a slap a***. When i asked him politely why he wasn't cheering, he replied that we were playing c**p. News to me. He then amazingly scaled three rows of seats to shout "i told you so." when the spuds scored what he thought was their equaliser. He sure knows how to support his team. Just not so sure which team it is. Does anybody else near me have to endure this goon week after week? Think he would be better not renewing and watching united or fcum. Cos he's not wanted at the coms.

CTID

Spiderman (Back for Good) (16/03/2008 at 23:04)

Told you its easy,i know i said 3-1 but hey a wins a win?

jackblue, Prescot (16/03/2008 at 23:05)

so pleased for Nedum. Less pleased with the MUEN catalogue of City's previous shortcomings in a so called match report.

LEE BRADBURY CITY RUINED MY LIFE (16/03/2008 at 23:06)

I don’t know if it is just a coincidence or what but the paymaster general returns and so does the team effort even Sven looked up for this one I have never seen him so animated ?, Great result we simply wanted it more than spuds and got are just reward, are short comings up front though are blatantly obvious and will have to be addressed pre season. I know I will be more than happy if we put the effort in like that every match until the end of season, I have been more concerned with performances and attitude than results of late there was nothing wrong with both today CTID

Norvaner, Vancouver (16/03/2008 at 23:17)

We really miss Richards ! Ned, although good , does let the odd goal get past him and thats not good enough for the Prem. Corluka's best postion is defo not right back. He has a footballing brain and you don't put that out on the wing, at the back !
Castillo had a fairly good game considering...what he really needs is to come into a winning team where there is relatively little pressure.
Caceido started slowly but eventually picked up the pace...he'll be a good long term prospect. Can't believe Svennis played Benny again on his own.......he needs a stike partner. Lots of huff & puff from Ireland, Johnson & Fernandes but liitle else. I think Elano should get a DVD on Fabregas and see how he plays, how he tackles and how he moves around the pitch. Elano has the same build and has the same talent as little Cesc so why doesn't he at least try and play like him ? Good game on the whole !

CairnsBlues, Cairns (16/03/2008 at 23:22)

what a relif to get it right again, it was becoming a very uninspiring run to the end of the season which had previously promised so much.
And of course great to get a win against Spurs who seem to have had our number in recent years. Great header from Nedum to win it, finally a goal from a defender. More of the same please Sven. Come on City!

(Sam Haggar) SVEN AND FRANK SKY BLUE ARMY COME ON CITY!!! (16/03/2008 at 23:25)

Fantasic result and performence Benjai worked his socls of setted up the first goal i addmit it was offside and was scrapie but we needed a bit of luck DR Thaksin will be meating Sven for his list of players like Henry Messi Ronaldihi Deco Kaka Lampard Drogbra

Simo's left peg (16/03/2008 at 23:29)

Get in there!!!

Feared the worst once again, but for a change lady luck was on our side! Let's hope this can lead to a good run for the remainder of the season, with Petrov back next game we can get Elano restored to attacking midfield (his best position) then hopefully we'll be that little bit more creative, and give Benji some decent service.

CTID.

Howard, Perth, Oz (16/03/2008 at 23:29)

A much better display from the lads, fighting spirit and committment from everybody, and it's about time a couple of decision's went our way. Dunne showed his usual courage by even starting the game and Gelson is a star of the future. These 3am finishes are killing me!

True Blue,Galway.Ireland, Galway (16/03/2008 at 23:37)

Remember Chimbonda's fisted goal and Malbranque escaping a sending off so well done City and Sven it's about time some luck came our way.Now lets continue with a run of victories.

Peter Beagrie`s beagle (16/03/2008 at 23:56)

Sven is absolutely right in that we deserve some luck with the odd tight offside, especially against the spuds.
A lot of positives to take from this match, although Charlie was a bit lacking in pace to get across to Chimbonda for their goal, overall we played with a lot more passion of recent, and worked a lot harder as a unit.
Castillo looks ever more promising, Elano looks to be regaining some form and benji worked hard.
Great goal from Ned and the weekend results went with us as well - great.
Makes me feel a bit happier at last!
CTID

..'I'm not really here!'...Glossopia blue., Glossop,Derbys. (17/03/2008 at 00:11)

....Well done today Lads!!..A gritty sleaves-rolled up type performance,just what We needed to see,even when 1-0 down heads did not drop,and with the odd,or rare piece of luck with an offside decision-it makes up for being robbed at the Lane earlier in the season!,Suddenly things are looking rosey again!,with Petrov back and Elano starting to look interested again-in patches-if Benjani can click into gear and start scoring next SAT at Bolton then at Brum....it's game on AGAIN for a UEFA Cup slot,it could even be via the fair-play league,where I believe City are in 5th place-behind all other european bound sides!...and would also mean less qualifying games before the 1st round proper!!...

Bobby Law (17/03/2008 at 00:26)

Dr Frank thank you for turning the bolt, it did the trick and watch out Bolton next and city will give them a real pasting as Petrov will be back and raring to go after having rested for 3 weeks and so too Hamaan both pivitol to success in the forthcoming games. Elano is the keyman and looks like he is regaining confidence to destroy defences again.

Best bets next weekend, City to beat Bolton 5.1, Chelsea to beat Arsenal 2.0 and Liverpool to give United a torrid afternoon and win by 3.0 Mescerano(1) Gerrard (1) Torress (1), cant wait!

Robert Young, Kirkcaldy, Fife (17/03/2008 at 00:48)

ABSO-BLOODY BRILLIANT, we deserved the win, we were the better side yet again, but this time we also had a wee bit of luck (about time) Nice to see MJ back to strength and SJ almost there also, Elano was great as was several others including Benjani. All in all a performance to build on. Now for the long trip back to Kirkcaldy, at least I have a smile on my face.

M9lad, (17/03/2008 at 01:24)

Not to mention a stonewall penalty from Dawsons blatent handball. All things considered a good game and a deserved 3 points. Castillo gets better with evey game and with a bit more confidence I can see this lad being a real threat. I thought Caciedo was unfairly targeted by the referee who penalized the lad everytime Hutton bounced off him, but he still managed some nice touches of skill, showing the reason for Svens willingness to spend relatively big on a lad so young. Until Ireland scored I have to admit to being frustrated by the amount of times he gave the ball away, and to a lesser extent Johnson also, although I think he may be still trying to get back to full match fitness after the recent op. Elano had his best showing in a while though still has a way to go to match his early season performances. Does anyone else think Charlie is starting to look tired? If we didnt have so many injuries, it might have been a good idea to have rested him after the Everton game as he's definately been off the pace and was directly responsible for their goal. It was nice to see 'Arpuray's own Mr. Onouha finally break his duck and wish him many more. Though not a fan, I also thought the injection of Vassels pace off the bench gave the team a fresh impetus and caused their defence problems. Truth be told I really didnt fancy us in this one at all, so I'm well pleased with the points, but for Christ sake, PLEASE, no more talk of Europe lets just keep our heads down, play each game as it comes and count em up at the death.

adders, Withington (17/03/2008 at 02:42)

At last we got some decisions in our favour...I have no sympathy for Spurs moaners as we were cheated at White Hart Lane

IAN TAYLOR, NEW YORK, NEW YORK (17/03/2008 at 03:00)

I am not criticising Elano because I think he is a very skillful footballer but I am now convinced that he would be far better suited to Serie A. I don't think that he will be able to play to consistently high standards in the EPL and in fact I think that his place could well be under threat from Castillo and the reason is pace - Elano doesn't have any. I think today you could see that Castillo was able to both attack and defend and once he really gets used to the EPL I think that he will be far more effective than Elano. I think if Elano is going to have any chance to succeed he will have to play as a definite midfield playmaker and not as a second striker but even in that position I think that Castillo has got more mobility and will prove to be able to get about the pitch far more effectively. I think that 4-4-2 with a midfield of Castillo ( preferably ) or Petrov ( LM ), Johno, Gelson and ?????? ( RM )and a front two of any of Caicedo / Benji / Boj will prove to be our best option. If we have to sell Geo and Elano to fill the ???? so be it but I think that is preferable to trying to build a team around a player that isn't up to the pace. Again, I'm sorry to say this but I think it would be better for the player and better for the team.

steve cowley (17/03/2008 at 07:04)

i thought it was a good performance and don't remember joe hart having too much to do.

some people won't be a happy with certain things and i too thought that ireland gave the ball away far too much. castillo needs more confidence and he may have scored a couple of the chances he had, corluka was sloppy for their goal, but overall i was happy with the performance and loved it that after merson said on saturday that it was a dead rubber and didn't mean anything well look at the table merson and look at the points.

i think we can get something out of the following games, bolton,birmingham,sunderland,fulham and middlesboro and who knows what confidence from them games could do for us against the remaining top half teams we still have to play, don't want to come across as happy clapper but being optimistic with petrov and richards coming back and yesterdays performance who knows, it might not happen but as a blue i remain optimistic and hopeful that it can happen.

keep the faith and the be behind the lads no matter what!!!!!

Montgolfier's balloon (17/03/2008 at 07:13)

This was an important win for City, a little fortunate perhaps, but well deserved. Well done City.

the mole, a dark place (17/03/2008 at 07:49)

Sven may be in for a hard time today in the meeting with the Dr.According to the Bangkokpost website the good doctor has already got a replacement in mind.See bangkokpost breaking news.

Spiderman (Back for Good) (17/03/2008 at 07:53)

Stephen Ireland Man of the match

Eric, Zoetermeer, Wherever (17/03/2008 at 08:00)

Important win for several reasons. Unfortunately wasn't able to see the match other than highlights on MotD. Nice to see Corluka having a good blast at himself after his fault for the first goal (shows mentality). Castillo is showing glimpses of what to expect, with Elano back on his way to form and obviously enjoying having Johnson and Ireland around him.

Steve, Droylsden, Tameside (17/03/2008 at 08:07)

Okay, lets get the obvious out of the way first. Ireland's goal was offside and Spurs should have had an equaliser, as theirs was NOT offside. But I get the feeling that we've been lacking a bit of luck lately and it was about time.

Having got that out of the way, I think we looked far more balanced and most of the players looked more up for the fight. It was a better game from Elano.

There are still issues and I think we could still press the opposition more by playing with 2 up front - at home at least - but that was better. He's still finding his feet a little, but one of the big differences for me was starting with Castillo instead of Vassell.

Some good results for us at the weekend too!

Well-played Blues...

stuart malcolm (17/03/2008 at 08:13)

Yesterday Eastlands. Tomorrow the The World!

- or maybe just Bolton next -ish!

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