APR 6 MANCHESTER CITY - MANCHESTER UTD 2-3 (1-2)

Action shots: Rösler, Kavi on goal, BeatBruce and Kavelashvili by Eric Graham.

Report by: Ashley Birch

There was a lot of anticipation about this match, but personally I was a little pessimistic until I heard the news that Kavelashvili was playing and we'd actually have two up front. I sudden wave of confidence hit me as I was convinced we could actually score some goals.

This was my first derby for about 20 years and I was tense as hell but we managed to relieve the pressure a little as we taunted the Rags (2500) and they us, before the kickoff. Also, Paul Lake was introduced to the crowd as part of his testimonial promotion. He was given a standing ovation and to their credit the Rags joined in as well. He then came over to the Kippax, visibly shaken by the reception; he looked as if he was in tears. It was quite an emotional moment and hopefully, it'll be matched by his testimonial game later this year.

The Rags started by attacking the North Stand and went a goal up after about 5 mins thanks to some appalling defending from Summerbee. Irwin did what everyone knows he does and overlapped down the left flank; why did no one pick him up, he's famous for it for God sake? Buzzer then decided to take him out with a ludicrous challenge; he was already inside the box at the byeline and all he succeeded in doing was scything him down, absolutely no complaints. Cantona strolled up and easily beat Immel from the spot. Here we go I thought, 0-4 or some other embarrassing scoreline.

The blues really pulled themselves together and quite rightly tried to play football. There had obviously been a total rethink of our tactics of the last two derbies, where we were physically finished after 70 mins through running around like men possessed. Our approach was much more measured and we started to pin United back; there were some nasty tackles coming in, particularly from Butt, and Neville who saw yellow for going right through the back of big Niall. Curle was also booked for an innocuous pull on Cole on the halfway line. The good news was that Kavelashvili looked class after only his first couple of touches, he's fast and controls the ball beautifully.

United looked dangerous when breaking but never really carved out a decent opening after the initial penalty. City constantly probed, with Buzzer in particular guilty of wasting several crosses by placing them too close to the Dozey Dane. United were constantly troubled by Quinn's height; he had a half-chance from a corner and finally made his superiority count on 40 mins. Frontzeck sent over a teasing cross which Quinn nodded down, Kavelashvili turned on it in a flash and buried it beyond Schmeichel. The Dane was livid and berated his defenders almost to the halfway line! Kavelashvili in contrast, was over by the Platt Lane Stand soaking up the adulation. The crowd's celebrations were passionate to say the least but it was shortlived as United scored virtually from the restart; Cantona put Cole through our static defence and he calmly slotted the ball under Immel. This was a real sucker punch, a really poor goal to concede, mainly due to inattentiveness.

City came out in the second half with Phillips on for Frontzeck and began to dominate, within a minute the ball was played to Kav in the right of the United box, he turned smartly and absolutely blasted a shot goalward which appeared to be intercepted by Schmeichel's neck/face (bet it burst some of his spots!). He seemed to be unconscious for a moment but recovered; it was hit extremely hard and must have hurt like hell. City had a succession of corners which troubled United but failed to result in any clearcut chances; United were confined to their own half for long periods. On about 70 mins Ball substituted Kav for Rösler and within a jiffy we had equalised. Rösler got the ball on the edge of their area, turned his man and ran across the box unleashing a brilliant shot which beat Schmeichel. This looked like the Rösler of old, a wonderful strike.

Could we last 15 mins more, the answer was no but what a way to lose. Summerbee and Brown (I think) managed to tackle each other 35 yards from our goal and the ball ran loose and was played to Giggs who ran 15 yards and unleashed what can only be described as a thunderbolt, which gave Immel no chance. This was a truly special shot; why us? City tried in vain to get the equaliser; Clough had a shot well saved and Quinn a header just outside the post.

We wuz robbed (honest), we outplayed United for several periods and deserved a draw at the very least. This was a much better performance than the two OT matches, there was purpose about City, not just running around putting tackles in in an attempt to stop United playing; a performance we can all be proud of. But....the Coventry result was a real sickener and if we don't win against Wimbledon then we will be relegated.

Performances:

Immel        7 No chance with the goals, but nothing else to do!
Frontzeck    6 Frequently caught upfield where he had to overlap but
               obviously wasn't at home.
Buzzer       5 gave away the penalty and messed up for their third, he will
               lose his place as soon as Foster is fit as Foster is a real
               defender.
Curle        6 Usual timely tackles but his distribution was once again dismal.
Symons       8 Excellent tackling.
Brown        7 Good ball-winning in midfield and really battled hard.
Clough       8 Another good performance, showing the others how to play.
Kinky        6 Quite subdued apart from a run at the heart of the United
               defence which must have had them bricking themselves and
               which ended with a foul.
Brightwell   7 Did a good job shepherding Cantona and didn't kick him at all???
Kavelashvili 7 This guy has skill, his first touch is excellent and he
               looks quick, he should become a star.
Quinn        8 Won almost everything and laid off well.

Subs:
Phillips     7 Showed us more tricks but his crossing needs some work.
Rösler       8 Great finish out of nothing, has he received a jolt by being
               dumped on the bench?

Ref: Let United get away with a lot of kicking yet booked Curle for a powder puff challenge, otherwise I thought he was OK.

Linesman: The one in front of us was terrible, he let two clear United offsides go and the latter could have proven costly as Cantona drove just wide of the post. He was frequently 10 yards behind the play but obviously got a kick up the arse at halftime as he was right there when WE were attacking and gave some hairline decisions against Quinn.

Crowd: There weren't many Rags in the Kippax but plenty in the Executive boxes, openly displaying their affections. Many Blues were getting exceedingly agitated by this but according to the programme (Colin Barlow) they are allowed to be there so will not be ejected unless inciting trouble.

Cole: This isn't sour grapes (honest), but Cole really is crap, the only reason he scores at all is the law of averages; if you hang around the opposition's penalty are for the entire season then you're bound to get a few anyone can put away.

APR 8 WIMBLEDON - MANCHESTER CITY 3-0 (1-0)

Report by: Paul Howarth

"If you're all going to Grimsby clap your hands"

After a draw at Bolton and a narrow defeat in the derby despite a much-improved performance, this was a game we really needed to get something from. A substantial proportion of the 11,844 crowd were Blues hoping to see the team achieve this objective. It was a pleasant, warm, sunny afternoon and the area around the ground was swarming with City fans well before the game was due to start. The Prince George pub close to the ground was absolutely packed and there were loads more Blues outside having a sing-song. Only a couple of minutes further away from the ground, the Prince of Wales pub (as suggested in MCIVTA) was so quiet you could get served straight away and have a seat too! No sign of any fellow MCIVTA-ers unfortunately.

And so to the team. It seems Alan Ball may have been picking up on some suggestions raised in MCIVTA, namely playing an orthodox 4-4-2 formation with Summerbee as a winger rather than a wing back or conventional full back. Ian Brightwell switched to right back and Michael Frontzeck retained his left back spot. Steve Lomas came in for Michael Brown in the only personnel change from the side that started the derby. Uwe started on the bench again and was joined by Buster Phillips and Alan Kernaghan.

The first half was quite even but very scrappy with few chances at either end. Both sides closed each other down very quickly and gave little opportunity for more expressive football. The Dons won most of the aerial battles all over the pitch and City's two Georgians hardly got a kick. Wimbledon were clearly wary of Kinkladze and Cunningham did a very good job in stifling the maestro's influence on the game. All City had to show for an uninspired first half performance were a couple of wild long-range efforts from the industrious Steve Lomas. Towards the end of the half a few mistakes began to creep into City's play (like with United's 3rd goal on Saturday) and from one of these Wimbledon took the lead. Frontzeck gave the ball to Jones, who gave it to Ardley; his cross was met by the unmarked Robbie Earle at the edge of the six yard box and Immel was unable to keep Earle's powerful header out.

There was a definite lack of pride, commitment and urgency from most of the City players and I fully expected Ball to give them a rollicking at half time before making one or two changes. As the teams came out for the second half, it was clear that I was wrong about at least the changes - there were none. Within seven minutes of the restart it was too late anyway. Two goals came in quick succession, both down to a policy of getting the ball in the box and seeing what happens. City's defence was a shambles for both goals and both Earle and then Ekoku must have thought it was Christmas, not Easter.

Only with the score at 3-0 did City seem to realise the severity of the position and start to show a bit of fight. Alan Ball made some changes, taking off Quinn (a chorus of boos rang out - Quinn looked our most effective player) and Summerbee for Rösler and Phillips respectively. City pinned the Dons in their own half for quite a while after this but still didn't look much like scoring. When even Gio missed after being put through by his compatriot Kavelashvili (albeit under severe pressure from two defenders), you just knew City weren't going to score.

Many Blues decided to leave and the others watched in stunned silence until about five minutes before the end when it seemed that a wave of resignation that we were doomed to relegation spread throughout the crowd. It was time to grin and bear it. "If you're all going to Grimsby clap your hands" was followed by similar questions relating to trips to Tranmere and Southend. Some novel variations on "S**t ground, no fans" came out too - "No ground, no fans" was dedicated to Wimbledon and "S**t team, great fans" to ourselves.

In the last minute Uwe had a shot blocked by Sullivan, Phillips collected the loose ball, beat a defender and chipped the ball over to the far post where Kavelashvili was waiting. His header was well- directed but Sullivan was back to make sure of his clean sheet. No, we just weren't going to score. Let's face it, we didn't deserve to. I'm not sure if this performance was any better than the visit to Loftus Road earlier in the season. There wasn't much in it anyway. Playing like this, the only way is down. Some of the Wimbledon spirit is what's called for. Are their players better than ours? I don't think so. If our players fought for each other and applied themselves like theirs do, we could yet save ourselves.

APR 13 MANCHESTER CITY - SHEFFIELD WED. 1-0 (0-0)

Action shots: A winner and Kavi in action by Eric Graham.

Report by: Ken Foster

After a brief natter at the MCITVA meet (thanks Malcolm) we went into the ground later than usual. I was surprised to see a few people being let through the turnstiles (obviously without tickets). I think they were using intimidation on the young turnstile lad. By the time the steward arrived, they had hot-footed it away. During the game I noticed a lot of people standing at the back who had obviously got in the same way. A case for stewards outside the turnstiles perhaps?

The match started to a crescendo of noise from the full house. City started as if they meant business but quickly faded. The noise from the crowd likewise. In truth the first half was very dull. Kavelashvili made some good runs but was crowded out in the box. He had one goal attempt which he scuffed and Pressman saved easily. Kinky had a couple of runs and hit a curler from the edge of the box which was easily picked off again by the keeper. Rösler looked lively and slightly sharper than of late. He frequently won the ball against Des Walker and laid off good balls. Frontzeck started by giving the ball away again but after that settled down and got forwards a lot. I thought he was looking as good as he did on his home debut. Firm in the tackle and always looking to supply crosses when in an advanced position. Brown was my man of the first half, making many timely interceptions and tackles.

Wednesday should have scored when Blinker crossed into the path of Hirst who should have scored from 3 yards but blasted into the North Stand. Brightwell looked distinctly unhappy at right back and he has stated in the past that he doesn't like playing there.

Half Time 0-0 (United losing 3-0. Shit!)

I expected Phillips on at half time to give us some width but AB persevered with the same formation. After 10 minutes of the half City started to get on top. From one cross Kavelashvili half connected and the ball span to Clough who hit Pressman's legs from point blank range. Kinky had another long range shot after one of 'those' runs and his powerful shot whistled past the angle. Another Brightwell cross saw Lomas and Kavelahvili meet it at the same time, the problem being that Kav was trying an acrobatic scissors kick, whilst Lomas was trying to head it. Lomas was the one who connected but it span harmlessly wide just behind Uwe. Just at the peak of our onslaught AB made the substitution with Quinn and Phillips replacing Kavelashvili and Frontzeck respectively. I thought this was a little hard on Frontzeck who was having a good match, but it was purely a tactical move.

Virtually instantly Brown knocked a ball over to Phillips wing which Steve Nicol nodded into touch. Phillips took the throw to Quinn who swivelled and crossed it for Uwe to slam pass Pressman on the volley. Hysteria! I was particularly pleased with the reactions of Frontzeck and Kavelashvili who jumped off the bench, arms aloft. (Summerbee take note!). There appeared to be some kind of disturbance in the North Stand where the celebrations had taken place (were they trying to throw out the guy who ran on the pitch to hug Uwe?). We had a great chance to go 2 up when a long ball from the back found Gio in acres of space. I thought he was going to put it in himself but he unselfishly passed to Phillips who was in a better position. Phillips constrived to hit the post when it was easier to score.

Wednesday brought on Waddle and began to dominate proceedings and should have scored when Pembridge was put through in a 1 on 1 situation. He tried to slide the ball under Eike who made a good save. Hirst who was unmarked in the middle of the box was livid. Pleat brought Pembridge straight off and replaced him with Sheridan. The last ten minutes were sheer hell. Non stop Wednesday pressure and if I'd had any finger nails left they would have been gobbled up ravenously. We survived after 2 minutes of stoppage time and the reaction of the fans and players alike was ecstatic.

Unfortunately the wins for Coventry and Southampton (blame the loss on the kits, obviously!) mean that we are still favourites for the 3rd relegation spot. We have 2 to play, while they have 3 each.

Performances:

Immel        7
Brightwell   6
Frontzeck    8
Curle        6
Symons       8
Clough       8
Kinkladze    7
Lomas        7
Brown        8
Kavelashvili 7
Rösler       8

Sub:
Quinn        7
Phillips     6

P.S. Reading between the lines of Uwe's post match interview, I think he was saying that he hates AB but loves the club.

APR 27 ASTON VILLA - MANCHESTER CITY 0-1 (0-0)

Report by: Paul Howarth

"There's only one Alex Williams"

The Villa fanzine "Heroes and Villains" previewed the match as follows: "A match against a team that isn't very good, to say the least, ought to be a fine and fitting way to end a glorious season. An easy win in good weather in front of a big crowd should be the order of the day, with the added bonus of seeing the league cup being paraded around the pitch after the match. There's just one small thing threatening to upset all these plans though. We're playing Manchester City. They need the points in their relegation battle. And as we all know, Villa and City have got a noble and upstanding tradition of giving the points to whichever team needs them. I hope that things have gone well for City and they don't have to rely on us to help them out, because we certainly won't this time. If there's one club at the bottom of the league that I really hope stay up it's City, it's a great day out there and their supporters deserve better than they've been getting. Villa to win, Coventry to lose and both teams to celebrate the relegation of Sky Blue City" [that's Coventry City, in case you didn't realise].

So, mixed feelings for the Villa fans who clearly remember Keith Curle's totally unnecessary handball that got them back into the title race a few seasons ago. Arriving at the ground a little before 2pm, I headed for the Witton Arms but was denied entry as it was already full to capacity; a large crowd of City and Villa fans basked in the sunshine outside the pub, getting their supplies from the local off license instead.

Inside the ground the atmosphere was quite relaxed considering our impending doom. The Villa fans were in end of season mood and the City fans were there more in hope than expectation. Alex Williams took his place in the seats right behind the goal amongst the rest of the fans and was greeted with "there's only one Alex Williams." I'm sure he was blushing...

City lined up with three centre-backs, Curle, Symons and Brightwell; Summerbee returned as right wing-back and Brown switched to left wing-back, replacing Frontzeck who was relegated to the bench. Clough, Lomas and Kinkladze played in midfield and Quinn and Rosler were up front, so no place in the starting line up for Kavelashvili. Villa were without Southgate, Charles and Yorke, but with only one home defeat all season, would still provide stiff opposition.

For the first 10 minutes or so, Villa looked to be up for it and they pinned City into their own half but didn't really trouble Eike Immel. After that City came more into the game but there was little in the way of goalmouth opportunities at either end for the first half hour, apart from a few speculative long-shots from Villa which weren't on target. Kinkladze had a few runs at the Villa defence but they all ended with either a pass or a tackle at the edge of the penalty area and nothing came from them. The first save of any note that had to be made was by Eike Immel; Steve Lomas intercepted a cross but headed the ball powerfully towards his own goal. Fortunately it went straight to the 'keeper who held the ball well.

Villa nearly opened the scoring again a few minutes later as the game burst into life; Kinkladze was penalised for his harmless-looking challenge on Johnson just outside the City area and the free kick was passed sideways for Wright to strike a powerful shot against the underside of the bar with Immel well beaten. This seemed to spark City into life and within the space of a couple of minutes we'd had two decent scoring chances. The first was a powerful 20-yard shot from Rosler which Bosnich couldn't hold. Quinn couldn't convert the rebound but he would have been offside in any case. The second chance came the way of Gio after Quinn tackled Ehiogu on the halfway line. The Georgian ran straight for goal but was forced wide by Paul McGrath and he sliced his shot high and wide. However, City's main concern appeared to be to keep a clean sheet, and with the prolific Yorke missing, this looked a realistic proposition at half time.

"Ooh Aah Paul McGrath"

City came out with a more positive attitude in the second half, which, combined with Villa's end-of-season apathy and a lack of ideas from their foward players, resulted in City having the better of the second period. Bosnich failed to hold a cross and when Clough hooked the ball back across the penalty area, Rosler attempted an acrobatic overhead kick whilst the 'keeper was stranded; unfortunately he couldn't keep his effort down and the ball flew over the bar. At the other end, a header from Savo Milosevic bounced wickedly off the sun-baked surface and had Immel scrambling to palm the ball away before it could reach the top corner.

City then forced a stream of corners which were all aimed deep towards Niall Quinn's head. The lanky Irishman won most of them; Kit Symons collected one of the knock-ons and hit a powerful shot towards goal but it was blocked at the near post. Summerbee then decided to have a shot instead of crossing; his effort was well held by Bosnich though. The breakthrough finally came in the 70th minute. Brown charged down the left wing and hit a deep cross towards Quinn who headed the ball back across goal for Steve Lomas, who hit a strong header goalwards from six yards. McGrath tried to divert it wide but only managed to deflect the ball the opposite side of Bosnich, who had no chance. Twenty minutes to go; would we fall apart as usual?

At first the answer seemed to be "yes". Almost straight from the restart Johnson broke free but was brilliantly tackled 12 yards from goal by man-of-the-match Michael Brown. There were a few half-chances before the end which probably looked worse from our vantage point low at the opposite end of the ground but City held on valiantly, without looking particularly uncomfortable. The closing minutes seemed to go by in slow motion but thankfully referee David Elleray played a negligible amount of injury time and the game was won. Cue massed celebrations from the Blues, most of whom weren't aware that Coventry and Southampton had also won. Most of the Villa fans stayed behind at the end (it was their last home game of the season) to watch the League Cup being paraded around the pitch; this made for a conveniently quick exit back onto the M6 North to Manchester.

We've now got to repeat the trick against Liverpool on Sunday and hope that one of our rivals slips up. I was resigned to the drop after Easter but we're still hanging in there. City wouldn't have it any other way, would they?