Newcastle 1 Manchester City 0
Owen nicks it!
Saturday 24th September 2005 : Nick Williamson
for Get Your Kits Out at St James Park
 Michael
Owen's second Newcastle goal handed his side a first Barclays
Premiership victory at St James' Park in eight attempts as
Manchester City lost for the third time in a week.
The England striker slotted past international team-mate David James
on 18 minutes to complete a good week for the Magpies and manager
Graeme Souness.
Owen might have collected a hat-trick on a day when his side,
despite still missing Kieron Dyer, Emre, Nolberto Solano and Albert
Luque, turned in a much-improved display until nerves started to
take effect late in the game with a disappointing City mounting a
fightback.
But a makeshift midfield and a much-criticised defence, in which the
returning Titus Bramble was excellent, did their jobs to the letter
to ensure that the points stayed on Tyneside.
The corresponding fixture last season finished 4-3 to the home side,
but there is little doubt that Souness will have been much happier
this time around as his side kept a clean sheet despite a torrid
conclusion to the game and created plenty of chances of their own.
For once, the players left the pitch on the final whistle to cheers
from the bulk of a crowd of 52,280 with three points banked for the
first time since Liverpool left the North-East empty-handed on March
5.
Owen guaranteed the Newcastle fans goals on the day he arrived on
Tyneside and with the exception of his debut against Fulham, he has
been as good as his word.
However, he walked off the pitch at half-time kicking himself that
he had only found the back of the net once after being presented
with a series of glorious chances.
The one he did take, he did so with his customary aplomb, running on
to Lee Bowyer's through-ball and stabbing a shot past James before
Richard Dunne could get to him to send the home crowd into raptures.
When he set off in pursuit of Alan Shearer's defence-splitting pass
22 minutes later, few inside St James' Park expected anything other
than to see the net bulge once again.
When it did not, courtesy of James' block, the disbelief inside the
stadium was mirrored in the expression on the England striker's
face, although it did not disturb him for too long.
A minute before the break he took aim from an improbable angle and
smashed a shot across the face of goal with the keeper beaten to
serve a further reminder of his eye for goal.
Owen's display was the main feature of an improved collective
performance by Newcastle who, buoyed by last weekend's 3-0 victory
at Blackburn, looked something like their former selves.
With Scott Parker back from suspension to provide the cover for the
back four and teenager Charles N'Zogbia giving Nedum Onouha a stern
examination down the left, they had a shape and a pace to their play
which they have lacked at times this season.
That said, they might have been behind with just seven minutes gone
when Antoine Sibierski escaped his marker with little difficulty to
meet a Joey Barton free-kick on the edge of the six-yard box and it
took a superb reaction save from Shay Given to keep the ball out.
But City rarely threatened before the break and were at full stretch
at the back too often for Stuart Pearce's liking.
The second half began in decidedly scrappy fashion with Newcastle
struggling for their rhythm and City working hard, but to little
real effect.
Given had to clear hurriedly under pressure from Darius Vassell
after Jean-Alain Boumsong's wayward back-pass had left him with work
to do, but the Magpies stepped up a gear and might have increased
their lead twice within minutes.
Owen was almost gifted a free shot at goal when Richard Dunne and
James got in a tangle on the edge of their own penalty area, but the
keeper redeemed himself for his part in the confusion by coming from
his line seconds later to collect Lee Bowyer's low cross with Owen
ready to pounce at the far post.
In the meantime, Dunne had headed a Barton corner over to remind the
home side that the points were far from secure, and Pearce attempted
to add fresh impetus on the hour when he replaced midfielder Kiki
Musampa with Stephen Ireland.
It took a well-timed challenge by Bramble to prevent the newcomer's
68th-minute cross from reaching Barton in front of goal, and with
the visitors enjoying their best period in the game, Souness decided
to try to shore things up by withdrawing Bowyer and sending on the
more defensively-minded Amdy Faye in his place.
City hammered away as the clock ran down and Dunne flashed another
header across the face of goal six minutes from time.
But with finger-nails being chewed all around, substitute Shola
Ameobi should have cemented the win with the final kick of the game
after being set up by Owen, but he dragged his left foot effort
across James and wide.Newcastle: Given, Carr, Boumsong,
Bramble, Babayaro, Bowyer (Faye 70), Clark, Parker, N'Zogbia,
Shearer (Ameobi 76), Owen.
Subs Not Used: Elliott, Harper, Moore.
Goals: Owen 18.
Man City: James, Onuoha, Distin, Dunne, Thatcher, Jihai,
Barton, Reyna, Musampa (Ireland 60), Sibierski (Croft 76), Vassell.
Subs Not Used: Sommeil, De Vlieger, Jordan.
Booked: Dunne, Barton.
Att: 52,280
Ref: G Poll (Hertfordshire).
Doncaster Rovers 1 Man City 1
aet Rovers win 3-0 on penalties
Another all time low for City - business as usual
Wednesday 21st September 2005: Colin Patterson
at Belle Vue for Get Your Kits Out
 Manchester
City had a man sent off as they crashed out of the Carling Cup to
League One Doncaster after a penalty shoot-out.
After being pegged back by Michael McIndoe's last-gasp extra-time
spot-kick, Stuart Pearce's side suffered three successful failures
of their own in the decisive duel, leaving Doncaster to claim a
place in the last 32 and add their names to the likes of Lincoln,
Halifax and Oldham, who have humbled City in cup combat in recent
seasons.
A truly dismal game came to life in extra-time with two penalties
and a sending off.
The partisan crowd erupted in anger when referee Graham Salisbury
pointed to the spot when Richard Dunne's surge into the area was
ended by Phil McGuire's trip.
Yet the contact appeared obvious enough and once tempers had eased,
Darius Vassell strode up and smashed the ball home.
With Doncaster tiring, it looked like the end of their challenge,
particularly as the League One outfit mustered barely nothing in
response.
Yet new life was breathed into their hopes in the most unfortunate
manner possible in the final minute of the opening period of
extra-time.
When Nedum Onuoha slid in on keeper Andy Warrington after briefly
losing control of the ball inside Doncaster's area, the contact
certainly appeared to be accidental.
Salisbury thought otherwise and belatedly brandished a red card.
Whatever the rights and wrongs of that decision, the damage was
extensive and sadly Warrington was carried off with a suspected
broken leg.
Once home heads had cleared, they woke to the realisation they had
an extra man, and, as the clock ticked down, they began to use it.
But it eventually required another dramatic intervention from
Salisbury, who once more pointed to the spot after City skipper
Sylvain Distin had handled.
McIndoe wasted no time in rattling home the equaliser, which set up
the final drama.
In the shoot-out, stand-in keeper Jan Budtz was the Rovers hero,
saving from Sibierski and Dunne after Vassell had hit the bar with
his first kick, while McIndoe, Coppinger and Paul Heffernan all
scored easily to take the hosts through.
Doncaster : Warrington (Budtz 105), McGuire, Stephen
Roberts, Albrighton, McDaid, Coppinger, Predic (Ravenhill 52),
Green, McIndoe, Fortune-West, Guy (Heffernan 81).
Subs Not Used: Mulligan, Neil Roberts.
Booked: McDaid.
Goals: McIndoe 118 pen.
Man City : James, Onuoha, Distin, Dunne, Thatcher, Jihai,
Reyna (Jordan 90), Ireland, Hussein (Croft 65), Sibierski, Vassell.
Subs Not Used: Sommeil, Richards, De Vlieger.
Sent Off: Onuoha (106).
Booked: Thatcher, Ireland, Croft.
Goals: Vassell 95 pen.
Att: 8,228
Ref: G Salisbury (Lancashire).
Manchester City 0 Bolton 1
City mugged by the Trotters
Sunday 18th September 2005 : Alan
Patterson for Get Your Kits Out at the COMSTAD
R ookie
boss Stuart Pearce was left scratching his head as Manchester City's
proud 13-match unbeaten run came to an end.
He must be wondering how his side failed to collect any points from
this encounter against their local rivals.
City had enough chances to win half a dozen games yet were left to
rue a succession of missed chances.
Bolton have a reputation in recent years for nicking results when
the odds are against them and this was another example of that.
Gary Speed secured the victory in stoppage-time from the penalty
spot, to the astonishment of the home supporters.'
City had looked good despite the abscence of Andy Cole with a
hamstring injury. They also had to play much of the game without
Trevor Sinclair, who appeared to damage his knee.
With Ashes hero Andrew Flintoff looking on, the home side carved out
a good chance inside the first minute when Darius Vassell whipped in
a cross which Tal Ben Haim did well to clear.
Bolton responded quickly and Kevin Davies got in a header in from
Bruno N'Gotty's free kick, only for Richard Dunne to clear the
danger.
City almost took the lead after 12 minutes following a swift
counter-attack.
Vassell cleverly flighted a header into the path of Antoine
Sibierski and he rattled in a powerful volley.
However goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen stood tall and made a superb
block to frustrate the French forward, reinstated to the side ahead
of Robbie Fowler.
Davies was then left clear in the 17th minute after Henrik Pedersen
floated in a cross. However he only succeeded in sending a weak
header into the arms of goalkeeper David James.
City boss Pearce was forced to reshuffle his side in the 25th minute
when Sinclair appeared to jar his knee and was replaced by Sun
Jihai.
Joey Barton found Sibierski with a good ball in the 31st minute but
his header came back off the bar.
Bolton swept back upfield and Ben Haim picked out Nolan, who had
peeled away from his marker, but his effort cleared the bar.
City won a free-kick on the right after 38 minutes but Jaaskelainen
was alert to the danger and punched the ball clear after Musampa had
played it in.
Sibierski was winning a lot of the ball in the air and came within a
whisker of giving City the lead after 41 minutes.
He got on the end of a delicate cross from Danny Mills to rattle in
a header. However Jaaskelainen was equal to it and turn his effort
over the top.
Sibierski almost had the last word in the opening 45 minutes, only
to screw his effort wide following a cross from Vassell.
Bolton boss Sam Allardyce made one change going into the second
half, bringing on Ivan Campo for Faye.
There was another let-off for his side in the 49th minute, however,
when Musampa slid the ball through to Barton.
He timed his run perfectly and his effort beat Jaaskelainen - only
to come back off the foot of the post.
Barton was then left hobbling after a challenge by Davies, which
earned the Bolton striker a booking.
City kept up the pressure and Vassell picked out Claudio Reyna at
the back post. He was about to go for goal when Pedersen managed to
get the slightest touch and concede a corner.
Diouf had hardly figured for Bolton after playing in the UEFA Cup
game and was replaced by Hidetoshi Nakata in the 56th minute.
Bolton were riding their luck and were saved again by the woodwork
in the 58th minute when Musampa's thunderbolt from the left thumped
the bar.
Barton had run himself into the ground for City and was replaced by
Stephen Ireland in the eighty first minute.
Bolton found themselves on the back foot in the 84th minute when
Ireland and Musampa fired in shots which were blocked.
Musampa then dragged his effort wide of the post before Sun Jihai
saw his cross-cum-shot hit the bar.
Astonishingly Bolton grabbed the winner in stoppage time when Speed
scored from the penalty spot after Dunne handled Pedersen's chip
into the area.
Teams:
Man City James, Mills, Dunne, Distin, Thatcher, Sinclair (Jihai 26),
Barton (Ireland 81), Reyna, Musampa, Sibierski, Vassell.
Subs Not Used: Fowler, Onuoha, De Vlieger.
Booked: Dunne.
Bolton Jaaskelainen, Ben Haim, N'Gotty, Jaidi, Pedersen, Diouf
(Nakata 56), Speed, Faye (Campo 45), Nolan, Giannakopoulos (Gardner
66), Davies.
Subs Not Used: Walker, Borgetti.
Booked: Davies.
Goals: Speed 90 pen.
Att: 43,137
Ref: M Dean (Wirral).
Manchester United 1 Manchester City 1
A moral victory for City
Saturday 10th September 2005 : Rod McIntyre for
Get Your Kits Out at the swamp they call Old Tra££ord
 Manchester
City's 31-year wait for a derby-day victory at Old Trafford goes on
- but they will never come closer without breaking the drought.
In the final minute of a compelling game, Trevor Sinclair nipped
past the tiring Gabriel Heinze, charged into the box and cut a
superb cross back to Andy Cole.
Just as Denis Law was City's hero in 1974, Cole looked set to earn
the undying adulation of the Blues support when he met Sinclair's
cross perfectly and let fly with a fierce shot which seemed certain
to fly in.
Unfortunately for City, Edwin van der Sar thought differently,
flinging himself across his goal to brilliantly tip over to Cole's
total disbelief.
A City win would not have been undeserved, because Stuart Pearce is
moulding a fiercely determined side at City who battle as a team.
They have now gone 13 matches without defeat and offered further
compelling evidence the Blue Moon is definitely rising.
Not that Sir Alex Ferguson will take any comfort from that.
Once again in his programme notes he reminded his team of the need
to win their matches to keep pace with Chelsea. But as Jose
Mourinho's side were winning again, his team dropped their first
points of the campaign.
It all looked so rosy too when Sinclair's delayed reaction to Paul
Scholes' thunderous free-kick played Ruud van Nistelrooy onside in
first-half stoppage time.
David James brilliantly saved Van Nistelrooy's first effort but
could do nothing to keep out the rebound as the prolific Dutchman
netted for the 131st time in his United career, pushing him
alongside Tommy Taylor into the Red Devils' all-time top 10.
But despite the admirable efforts of Wayne Rooney, United could not
carve out a match-winning second. And, after Joey Barton had prodded
home an equaliser 15 minutes from time, they so nearly ended up with
nothing at all.
In the corresponding fixture last season, Kevin Keegan ditched his
attacking philosophy to grind out a goalless draw, a move Pearce was
largely credited with being the brains behind.
This time around, City were slightly less negative, but just as
organised, retaining their shape and largely subduing a United
midfield lacking a rested Roy Keane, although United might have been
able to play with more freedom had referee Steve Bennett awarded the
hosts a first-minute penalty when Ben Thatcher sent Rooney tumbling.
Despite his obvious frustration, the England striker just about
managed to keep his fragile temper in check on that occasion and
although their were flashes of teenage angst throughout the half,
there was no loss of control on the scale of that shown in Belfast.
In fact, the biggest problem Rooney had was of his own making. Three
times, the £27million forward broke clear of City challenges then
slipped to the ground with no-one near him.
Balance issues aside, Rooney looked more likely to create an opening
than anyone else on the pitch and typically, it was the 19-year-old
who set up United's first opportunity, turning brilliantly after
taking Alan Smith's pass with his back to goal before sending Park
racing into the area.
Unfortunately for the South Korean, his first touch took him wide
and his shot, though well hit, fizzed beyond the far post.
Before the opening period entered its one crucial additional minute,
the only other chance United carved out came as something of a
surprise to Van Nistelrooy, who seemed to be caught out when Park
flicked on John O'Shea's cross.
The Dutchman did manage a first-time shot but lofted tamely over
James and his goal.
It was another 15 minutes before the pair came face to face again
and this time Van Nistelrooy emerged victorious.
Amid the rancour over the offside flag which never came, James'
magnificent save from Van Nistelrooy's initial flick will probably
be overlooked.
Without doubt, the one-handed effort was one of the stops of the
season and the discarded England keeper deserved far more than to
see the rebound land straight back at Van Nistelrooy's feet,
allowing the former PSV striker to ram home.
Victory could have been wrapped up within seconds of the restart
when Rooney drilled a low cross to the edge of City's six-yard box.
But neither Park nor Scholes could make firm contact, allowing the
visitors to try and exploit growing nervousness in United ranks.
Even Rooney's electric talents gradually dimmed and the youngster
responded to the abrassive taunts of the City fans with a few
gestures of his own.
Pretty soon though, it was Barton and Robbie Fowler who were
jubilantly offering their opinions to the home support following
City's equaliser
Just as James' heroics went unrewarded earlier, so Van der Sar's
reaction save from Cole's strike proved in vain as Vassell blasted
the rebound towards goal, where Barton flicked it through
Ferdinand's legs to set up a dramatic finale in which Cole so nearly
supplied the killer touch.
A fine result for the Blue side of Manchester who are at last
becoming a side to be reckoned with.
Teams:
Man Utd Van der Sar, O'Shea, Ferdinand, Silvestre, Heinze, Fletcher
(Keane 78), Smith (Richardson 87), Scholes, Rooney, van Nistelrooy,
Park (Giggs 81).
Subs Not Used: Howard, Bardsley.
Booked: van Nistelrooy.
Goals: van Nistelrooy 45.
Man City James, Mills (Jihai 72), Dunne, Distin, Thatcher, Sinclair,
Barton, Reyna, Musampa (Sibierski 72), Vassell (Fowler 84), Cole.
Subs Not Used: Weaver, Onuoha.
Booked: Cole, Thatcher, Reyna, Mills.
Goals: Barton 76.
Att: 67,839
Ref: S Bennett (Kent).
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