Saturday 20th March 2010

FA PREMIER ACADEMY LEAGUE

 

Manchester City U18's 2 v 2 Barnsley U18's

 

Goals: City - Guidett(14), Benali(55). Barnsley(71 & 76)

City's slim glimmer of hope of finishing the season as title challengers probably took an unreconcilable turn for the worse as poor finishing and the match officials having a discriminate influence allowed Barnsley to come from two nil down and draw the game after goals from Big John Guidetti and captain Ahmad Benali had given City the lead.

 

The first half was pretty much one way traffic that saw City take the lead in the fourteenth minute when good work down the right hand side from Tom Smith and Omar El Abdellaoui,saw Omar's low hard cross well finished by Guidetti past the dive of the Barnsley goalkeeper.

 

City had two very good chances to at least double their lead; no more so when Guidetti broke from his own half with the majority of the Barnsley player's inside the City half and he bore down on goal and saw that Omar was shadowing him on his right and he squared the ball to negate the goalkeeper's position but Omar did not shoot first time and his shot was blocked.

 

City then nearly scored a perfect football goal when all ten outfield players got a touch on the ball with a very patient build up with probably at least fifty passes that eventually came to Guidetti out on the left and he crossed in and Emeryck Hippias could not quite keep his header down as the ball cannoned of the crossbar.

 

The second half continued as the first half had finished with City dominating the play and doubling their lead in the fifty fifth minute when Tasos Kapsalopodas played a ball through to Guidetti who forced his way way past the defenders and powered the ball across the area and Benali had an empty net to put the ball into the goal.

 

City's relentless pressure came to nothing as in the seventy first minute the referee amazingly awarded a penalty for what he pointed to as shirt pulling but I had a clear view and could not see what he had seen. The Barnsley player powered his dead ball into the corner of the goal.

 

Five minutes later and Barnsley were level when there was a clash between Loris Karius in the City goal and the Barnsley forward which he has the right to go for it but he takes Karius out as the ball slowly crosses the line.

 

City welcome Barnsley's fellow Yorkshire teams, Leeds United to Platt lane next Saturday where they will hope to find better finishing to kill the game off and hope that they are not playing more than eleven men.

 

 

Team: City: Karius(GK), T Skogsrud(Robinson 72), Smith, Wabara, Veseli, Kapsalopodas, El Abdellaoui, Benali(Captain), Hippias, Guidetti, Olle.

 

Subs: E Johansen(GK), Paris

 

 

A number of new faces were on show for the U16's side today, going into the break 1 down the scoreline soon changed to Citys advantage with two fine individual goals for the forwards, but that was soon cancelled out by a Barnsley equaliser to leave the final score at 2-2.

 

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