Manchester City v Hull City
Friday December 26, 2008, 3.00pm
City of Manchester Stadium - Att: 45,196
Teams:
City:
Hart,
Zabaleta, Dunne (c), Richards (Onuoha h-t), Ball, Kompany, Ireland
(Fernandes 85), Wright-Phillips, Elano, Robinho, Caicedo (Jo h-t).
unused subs: Schmeichel, Garrido, Vassell, Sturridge.
Hull:
Myhill,
Ashbee (c), Windass (Fagan h-t), Geovanni (Cousin 70), Mendy, McShane,
Boateng (Doyle 34), Marney, King, Zayatte, Turner.
unused subs: Barmby, Hughes, Duke, Halmosi.
Goals: 1-0 (Caicedo 15), 2-0 (Caicedo 27), 3-0 (Robinho 28), 4-0 (Robinho 36), 4-1 (Fagan 80), 5-1 (Ireland 82)
Bookings:
City:
Hull: Geovanni (45), Fagan (72), Zayatte (72), Mendy (75)
Referee: A Marriner
Pre-match
There
were three changes to the starting line-up from last Sunday – Elano was
back in for Darius Vassell, who dropped to the bench, Felipe Caicedo
started in the Barclays Premier League for the first time in place of
Benjani, while Robinho was back to add some cutting edge after getting
over his ankle injury – Gelson Fernandes was a substitute.
The match
Not
surprisingly there was a nice ovation for Geovanni on his return to
CoMS, our fans still grateful for his winning goal in the derby in
August last year.
Zayatte caused confusion in his own area by
failing to clear in the first minute, his ball out going straight to
Stephen Ireland. He quickly laid it into the path of Felipe Caicedo,
but with the crowd baying for him to shoot he found Robinho on the
left, whose curling shot did not trouble Myhill.
Elano strolled
into space two minutes later, but with Robinho and Caicedo in good
positions he looked to be set to shoot when hauled down on the edge of
the box – but Andre Marriner did not think it was a free kick. Hull
attacked straight away, and Joe Hart was forced to save when Marlon
King went for goal after breaking into the box.
An enterprising
start continued, with Ireland firing over with a first-time volley from
a corner, and Robinho also forcing a corner on the other side after
shooting from a tight angle. Caicedo’s impressive recent impressive
vein of form continued, the big Ecuadorian harrying a Hull defence who
were maybe not too aware of his capabilities.
And the former
Basle striker, signed at the very end of last January’s transfer
window, finally chalked up a goal that could not be taken away from him
on 15 minutes. Dunne broke out of defence and sensibly found Robinho.
He lifted the ball over to Ireland who crossed across the face of goal,
and Felipe Caicedo could not miss from a yard out .
Robinho went close two minutes later, seeing a goal-bound shot palmed away by Myhill after a few trademark stepovers.
The
pair that had set up the first goal repeated the trick on 26 minutes,
Ireland latching on to a poor clearance in defence to slide the ball
across the goal just like before, and Felipe Caicedo was on hand to strike it home with his left foot.
We were still looking at the replays when City went three up. Robinho
burst into space, but after being closed down he fooled the defence by
slipping the ball onto his right foot and immediately placing it past
Myhill and into the far right hand corner. The mayhem nearly continued
shortly after, when Caicedo spurned the chance for a hat-trick,
hammering a header straight at Myhill.
Hull, no doubt stunned,
did manage to get forward and win a free kick, which predictably was
taken by Geovanni and superbly saved by Hart, low to his right.
But City went even further ahead after just 35 minutes, and it was Robinho
on target again as once more a cross from the right unlocked Hull’s
defence. Elano chipped the ball over to SWP, who broke down the flank
and crossed, the fit-again Brazilian number 10 almost walking the ball
home.
There was nearly a fifth on 39 minutes, SWP’s shot from
outside the box bringing a fine save out of the shellshocked Myhill.
SWP also went close in stoppage time, getting inside McShane to go
one-on-one with Myhill, but he put his shot badly wide. Hardly anyone
(apart from Hull) wanted half-time to come, but Phil Brown showed his
feelings by giving his players a very public dressing-down right in
front of the travelling support.
SWP had yet another good chance with 53 on the clock, but this time Doyle got his foot in the way just in the nick of time.
The
second half, almost inevitably, had the feeling of ‘after the Lord
Mayor’s Show’ about it, with the four-goal cushion giving a lot of
comfort to the Blues, while the Tigers had a lot of possession without
causing Joe Hart too many problems. Geovanni came off with 20 minutes
left, getting his second big ovation of the day and showing his
gratitude.
SWP had another opportunity with 17 minutes to go,
shooting for the near post from outside the box but seeing his effort
fizz past the corner of post & bar. Lady Luck smiled on Hull with
11 minutes left, when Elano’s free kick from distance struck the post
having taken a wicked deflection off the wall with Myhill stranded. The
Tigers made the most of this slice of good fortune by reducing the
arrears by one, Craig Fagan poking it home from close range after Hart had not held Cousin’s cross.
But the four-goal lead was restored within seconds, Stephen Ireland
finding Robinho, who eventually rolled it back into the Irishman’s path
for him to slam it home from inside the area. Stephen’s rise to the
status of fans’ favourite was underlined by the ovations he received
when being replaced by Fernandes and when being announced as Thomas
Cook Man of the Match.
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