Forthcoming Fixtures

Liverpool Prove a Decent Test

MCFC Reserves 1 - 0 LFC Reserves

After both teams have done the double over each other over the past two seasons; City got their chance to continue that alternate with their first ever Premier Reserve League match at the City of Manchester Stadium resulting in a one nil victory for the blues with a Daniel Sturridge goal.

The game saw the chance for City fans to get a first look at one of their new Brazilian signings Glauber Berti as he played centre back alongside youth cup winning captain Ben Mee. City fans would not have been disappointed as he put in a very assured display.

The feel good factor from the first team and need to raise the standard of play was evident last night as their was real desire to win back the ball when it was lost. With plenty of rain during the day the surface was nice and wet which made for a good passing game as both teams kept the ball on the pitch as they moved it around as it made for a very entertaining game and both teams kept it fairly clean in their tackles.

City took the lead and scored the only goal of the game in the fourteenth minute when Shaleum Logan made a strong run down the right and was fouled as he tried to pass the defender. Paul Marshall stepped up to take the free kick with his in-swinging left foot cross that David Ball headed on to the far post where the acrobatic Mee did an overhead bicycle kick that was heading for the far post, but there was Sturridge hanging on the post to poke the ball in the goal and to make sure it went in.

City could have gone further in front in the first half with Sturridge playing his part in both efforts. The first he was provider as he made a strong run down the right and whilst getting close attention from two defenders he was able to evade them and lay the ball back into the area; but Berti was unable to keep his right foot side shot down as it flew a foot over the crossbar. Sturridge's other effort was from afree kick that was thirty yards out that Peter Gulacsi in the Liverpool goal I am sure got a touch to as it skimmed the crossbar.

Liverpool had their own chances and despite some of the Liverpool sections of the crowd thinking the shots had gone past Tobias Johansen in the City goal, they had hit the netting behind and bounced back.

City started the second half brightly when Logan had another strong run down the right and he was able to find Vladimir Weiss who drove into the box and cut the ball back for Sturridge to strike but Liverpool's captain Stephen Darby was positioned well on the goal-line to clear the shot.

Weiss and Logan combined well on seventy two minutes; but this time Weiss found Logan and he drove forward into the box but his strike was just in front of Ball and he could not quite get there to convert the effort.

Five minutes later Sturridge again had an excellent chance to seal the victory when a Ben Morris deep pass was only partially headed by Liverpool's Martin Kelly and that allowed Sturridge to nip in and race through on goal but Danny pushed the ball wide and Gulacsi covered his every angle and blocked his shot behind for a corner. He again denied Danny from the resulting corner as he held on to his shot.

Liverpool had the final chance of the game when the heavens opened and Johansen slipped as he tried to clear a back pass but fortunately when the ball went straight to Jay Spearing but Berti closed him done well to deny him a clear shot at goal.

This result means that City stay top of the reserve league with three wins from four as second placed Everton drew at home to Middlesbrough. City's next game is home to Manchester United at Hyde United's Ewen Fields on Wednesday 22nd October.


City: Johansen(GK), Logan, Williamson(Capt.), Mee, Berti, Tsiaklis, Weiss, Marshall, Ball, Sturridge, Morris.

Subs: Hartley(GK), McDonald, Poole, Obeng, Tutte.


Liverpool: Gulacsi(GK), Darby(Capt.), Insua, Jose Diminguez, Kelly, Plessis, Abalimba(Duran 62), Spearing, Ngog(Bruna 46), Pacheco, Weijl.

Subs: Bouzanis(GK), Irwin, Ayala.


Att: 234.