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HOLDING THE LINE: Sylvain Distin tries to keep Marcus Bent from the ball
City 2 Everton 0
2/10/2005
CITY got back to their winning ways with a solid win against struggling Everton, thanks to a late Darius Vassell strike and a Danny Mills thunderbolt.
The Blues had shown no little effort against David Moyes' side, particularly during the second half, but it took until the 71st minute for Mills' 30-yard screamer to open the City scoring.
Everton tried to come back into the game, with Kevin Kilbane closest to equalising, only to see his shot hooked off the line by skipper Sylvain Distin.
But as Everton's resistance crumbled, City capped off their win in what had been a relatively drab affair when Vassell stroked home a neat pass from Joey Barton to grab the second in stoppage time.
The pulsating finish was a stark contrast to what had gone before.
Earliest
The earliest kick-off in Premiership history left supporters of a religious disposition with a straight choice between football and church.
Those who chose the former found little in the way of spiritual guidance in a first half so poor it must have left many wishing they had stayed in bed.
If events at The Valley and Craven Cottage yesterday offered counter evidence to the argument of a drab, boring Premiership this dismal fare backed up every claim which has been made.
The most noteworthy incident which occurred - before Halsey brought merciful relief with his half-time whistle - came before the game had even started when Claudio Reyna pulled out with a neck injury.
It forced City boss Stuart Pearce, bidding to arrest his own mini-slump after three successive defeats, into playing Joey Barton even though the tenacious midfielder was not fully fit.
Typically, though, Barton responded to the challenge and was in the middle of most of the cut and thrust around the halfway line.
So too was Neville, the United old boy receiving a predictably warm reception on his return to Manchester.
Searing
Neville was eager to make his mark and did so with a couple of searing tackles, although it was Joseph Yobo who followed through another forceful challenge on Barton by smacking the City man on the nose - leaving blood running down his face.
Tim Cahill did find the net during that poor opening period, only to have the effort ruled out for offside.
The midfielder also had the most meaningful shot, which David James collected with ease.
It was more than City could muster, even with Andy Cole back after his recent hamstring trouble.
Only once did Cole look like breaking free of the shackles imposed on him by Toffees captain David Weir, but even then the Scot quickly recovered his ground.
Deadlock
The former England striker had a bit more luck after the interval, smashing a shot into the side-netting - as Kiki Musampa had done a bit earlier.
Thankfully, it was not long afterwards when Mills broke the deadlock.
Given Mills has previously scored only six Premiership goals - and none since December 2002 - the former England full-back was an unexpected match-winner.
Yet the way the ball arrowed into the top corner called into question why the 28-year-old’s strikes have been so infrequent.
Kevin Kilbane came close to levelling within a minute. But James produced his best save of the match to keep out the Irishman’s angled drive - allowing Vassell to finish the contest in stoppage time with his third goal of the campaign.
What did you think of City's performance? Have your say.
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3/10/2005 at 16:31
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Who was City's best player against PSG?
4/10/2005 at 18:57
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