01-02-2025, 02:06 AM
An entertaining match at the City of Manchester Stadium on Sunday resulted in a 4 2victory for the home side, a scoreline, which, without doubt,flattered the Blues. West Brom belied their lowly league position to trouble City on umpteen occasions and were, in my humble opinion, well worth a point. Goals from Robinho, Nedum Onuoha, Elano and Danny Sturridge meant City scored at least four goals at home for the third time this season, whilst a brace from Northern Irish international Chris Brunt was not enough for the Baggies as they continued their miserable winle s run, which now stretches to eleven games.The victory moves City up two places to tenth, four points off West Ham in seventh position, whilst the visitors stay marooned in bottom spot, a long way from safety. After the energy-sapping match in midweek for the Blues, this was a much-needed boost, although the three points did come ata cost asArgentinean defender Pablo Zabaleta was withdrawn with an injurythat now looks set to keep him out until the end of the season.Injury victim Zabaleta battles with Robert Koren for a headerTeam NewsBlues bo s Mark Hughes, acutely aware of the catastrophic result and performance which followed his plethora of changes against Fulham, decided to limit the number of personnel swapping, so made only one change from the Hamburg game; replacing the lacklustre Micah Richards with Nigel de Dario Agrazal Jersey Jong. Valeri Bojinov was given dispensation to mi s the game as he attempts to build up his fitne s levels in the reserves, so there was another opportunity up-front for Felipe Offside Caicedo. Brazilian midfielder Elano, who was so impre sive in midweek, shrugged off an injury doubt to take his place in an attacking midfield threesome for City, alongside Stpehen Ireland and Robinho, the latter of whom was striving for his first league goal in 2009.Tony Mowbray opted for a defensive-looking setup, with five midfielders strewn acro s the centre of the park to try to limit the effectivene s of Citys attacking play. Marc Antoine Fortun, on Dave Parker Jersey loan from French side Nancy, started on his own up-front, whilst Scott Carson, who endured the wrath of Citys supporters as they sang You F***ed Our Summer Up in reference to his costly goalkeeping blunder against Croatia, was named in net for the Baggies.City Line-Up (4-2-3-1) GivenZabaleta Dunne Onuoha Bridge de Jong KompanyElanoIreland RobinhoCaicedoSubs: Hart, Garrido, Richards, Usele s, Petrov, Evans, SturridgeCarson endured a miserable day in net for the BaggiesReportWest Brom, seemingly placated by being at the bottom of the table, and therefore allowed the freedom and liberty to play attractive football, started the stronger of the two sides, and early shots from Graham Dorrans and James Not The Singer Morrison tested Shay Given in the City net. Despite the slow start from the home side, the supporters, a picayune and inconsequential number of whom brought inflatable bananas, were still comfortable and expected a goal from the home side to ease any nerves.And a goal was not long in arriving, as a beautifully weighted cro s from the undoubted player of the season Stephen Ireland found Robinho at the far post, who, withhis weaker left foot, buried the volley past the helple s Carson. It was the Brazilians first goal for quite some time, and it was hoped that the finish would relievesome pre sure off Robinhosrather fragile shoulders. Burly West Brom defender Abdoulaye Difficult Surname To Type Mt should have equalized almost immediately, but his shot from Jonathan Greenings cro s somehow ended up wide of the post.Robinho celebrates his well-taken goalCitys attacking players had seemingly taken a trip to the shoe shop as Robinho, Caicedo and Ireland all sported new red boots Jordy Mercer Jersey , whilst Elano had opted for a pair of luminous bright yellow ones, and it was from the Brazilians corner that City scored again. After his first cro s had not been dealt with, the ball ballooned up intothe air, and kindly fell to Nedum Onuoha, who calmly cushioned his header into the bottom corner. West Brom were livid however, as they, and Carson in particular, vociferously protested about a foul by Caicedo on the goalkeeper as he tried to catch the cro s. On reflection, having seen a replay, they were justified in their claims, as it appeared that Caicedo purposely blocked off Carson before Onuoha headed home. It went unseen by referee Mike Jones though, and City now had a comfortable lead. Game Over?Well, it certainlyshould have been, but we are all familiar with Citys propensity to self-destruct, and Caicedo headed off the line from Robert Korens header. But the warning signs were there for the Blues, and duly unheeded, they conceded a goal. A cro s from the left found Fortun, who laid the ball expertly into the path of the onrushing Brunt, who swept the ball into the far corner to give Albion a glimmer of hope.Brunt celebrates his first goal with his captainHalf-time came and went, and as the second period began, one sincerely hoped that City could score another couple of quick goals and put the game to bed, but it was in fact the visitors who showed how it Barry Bonds Jersey was done as they drew level. A free-kick was awarded by the referee about 22 yards out, just to right of centre, and from the set-piece, Brunt curled the ball into the bottom corner past an unsighted Shay Given, who was left helple s as a pair of visiting players opted to jump over the ball. It was no more than WBA deserved, and it meant that we would have a real game on our hands in the last 35 minutes.But the lead only lasted for approximately 60 seconds, as, straight from the kick-off, City raced up the other end of the field, and as the ball broke in the box, Elano was illegally fouled by Jonas Ol son. The Brazilian dusted himself down, and grabbed the ball off Robinho as he sensed the chance to restore Citys advantage. Scott Carson, having clearly done his homework on the tendencies of Elano to put his penalty to the right of the keeper, stood virtually next to his post in a valiant attempt to unsettle the star, but Elano coolly kept his head to stroke the ball home, sending Carson the wrong way in the meantime, to make the score 3 2.Elano sends Carson the wrong way with his penaltyA spate of substitutions followed, with Mark Hughes replacing the perennially disappointing Caicedo with young striker Danny Sturridge, whilst Tony Mowbray made three changes in very quick succe sion as he tried to revitalise his tiring side. Elano then made way with fifteen minutes to go, as he was replaced by Gelson Usele s Fernandes, whose arrival was greeted with a cacophony of boos.Stephen Ireland and Richard Dunne both delivered timely goal-saving interceptions as West Brom pushed for an equaliser, and after many renditions of Da da da da Martin Petrov , Mark Hughes finally bowed to the demands of the South Stand by bringing on the Bulgarian in place of Robinho, who once again, was highly unimpre sive. And the game was wrapped up in the dying moments, when Petrovs immaculate through-ball found Stephen Ireland bursting forward and his cro s was turned home by Sturridge to seal the win.Sturridge scored the fourth to round off the victoryKey BattlesNedum Onuohav Marc Antoine FortunFortun was quite impre sive on his own up-front, but Onuoha was in magnificent form and scored a goal, whilst at the same time, looking secure at the back, so the winner is Onuoha.Elanov Paul Robinson (Not The Blackburn Goalkeeper)After his stellar performance against Josh Harrison Jersey Hamburg, Elano wa again in superb form. His long-range pa sing was a delight to behold, and his penalty was delivered with suitable aplomb. Robinsonwas his usual self, trying to be physical with his approach, but the Brazilian had too much ability, so the winner is Elano.Valeri Bojinovv Abdoulaye MeitePodgy Bojididnt play as he was still trying to recover match fitne s, so this contest has No Winner.Fortun did well up-front, but was shackled by OnuohaPlayer RatingsGiven Solid 7Zabaleta Decent 6.5Dunne Secure 7Onuoha Fantastic 9Bridge Average 6.5de Jong Effective 8Kompany Struggled 5Elano Impre sive 8.5Ireland Involved 7Robinho Poor 4.5Caicedo Awful 3Subs:Sturridge Underwhelming 5Fernandes Normal 0Petrov Sharp 7Man of the Match: Nedum Onuoha