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Unbeaten Run Continues

Unbeaten Run Continues

MCFC Reserves  2 – 0  BRFC Reserves

The biggest football cliché was played to the full in this fixture; it truly was a game of two halves. That was more than likely due to City converting a penalty a minute before the interval and probably making the Blackburn dressing room a glum place to be for the fifteen minute break. City’s penalty goal was firmly struck by Ishmael Miller; his third in as many matches and City’s second goal came from the head of our very own leaping salmon, Micah Richards.

City’s drive and determination to go on and win the game after the interval forced the Blackburn players onto the back foot and allowed their frustration to get to them as they became quite ill disciplined and had four bookings to go along with the double booking when the penalty was awarded in the first half.

City’s penalty came from Stephen Ireland playing a well weighted thirty yard sweeping pass out to the right side for Lee Croft to run onto. Lee did just enough to hold of Andy Taylor and draw in the foul as he forced his way into the box. Miller calmly stepped up to drive the ball straight down the middle and past Richard Lee in goal.

City replaced Geert De Vlieger with Kasper Schmeichel at half time but Kasper had a quiet forty five minutes except for a brief walkabout when David Sommeil had to clear of the line to cover his blushes.

City’s magnetic desire towards the woodwork came into play once again, two minutes into the second half. Good build up down the City left allowed Ireland to neatly back heel the ball into the path of Jonathan D’Laryea who then squared the ball to Miller who was able to dance around Andy Todd and Lorenzo Amoruso and fire a hard low shot that beat the keeper, but couldn’t beat the bottom of the post.

With nearly ten minutes played of the second half, Miller drew Todd into the foul on the right of the pitch about thirty yards out. Ireland stepped up with his trademark curling free-kick and the ever impressive Richards rose above everyone else and headed the ball into the far corner of the net.

Five minutes later, Blackburn’s Tony Kane was fortunate to be positioned in the way of Miller’s shot as he hit the half cleared ball back with interest at the Blackburn goal.

As City’s squad is quite depleted up front and lacking with any creativity with Sibierski and Musampa failing to find any real form, bringing Ireland of after sixty three minutes was the sensible substitution, but that meant the ineffective Hussein moving to centre midfield. So although we saw the pace of Kelvin Etuhu come on the field, we had lost the drive from midfield that Ireland does so well.

So the game ended quite comfortably for City as Blackburn tried to hit the self destruct button. It also means that City move three points clear at the top of the table with an away trip to Sunderland next week.


MCFC(4-1-2-2-1): De Vlieger(GK)(Schmeichel 46), Warrender(capt.), Jordan, J D’Laryea, Richards, Sommeil, Croft, Ireland(Etuhu 63), Miller, Laird, Hussein.

Subs: Bennett, Johnson


BRFC(4-4-2): Lee(GK), Kane, Taylor, Harkins(capt.), Amoruso, Todd(Stopforth 66), Peter(Nolan 66), Byrom, Barker(Johnson 66), Garner, Treacy.

Subs: Drench(GK), Welch.


Att: 647.


MoM: J D’Laryea – the unsung hero; broke play up well and got forward at times.