Sunderland 0
Manchester City 3 Stadium of Light
Blue
Sunday 31st August 2008 :
Louise Taylor for GYKO at the Stadium of Light
They say you should never go back but there are exceptions to
every rule and Shaun Wright-Phillips made the happiest of
returns to Manchester City colours yesterday. After a
deceptively slow-burn beginning the
winger, who rejoined City from Chelsea for £9m on Thursday,
scored two second-half goals and left the Sunderland defence
bamboozled by his licence to roam in a withdrawn attacking role.
Well before the end the frustrations accumulated during three
largely trying seasons at Stamford Bridge seemed to have been
exorcised, albeit at the expense of Roy Keane's serenity.
Sunderland's thunder-faced manager saw his team fold
unforgivably after falling behind to Stephen Ireland's opener
just before half- time and the former Manchester United captain
clearly did not enjoy being serenaded with cheeky chants of "Keano
out" from City's travelling support.
Only last week Keane had hailed the fighting qualities
supposedly engendered by his newly "loud and spiky" dressing
room but, stripped of their off-field bling, the ineffective
Djibril Cissé, making his home debut, and El Hadji Diouf offered
an alarmingly bland attacking mix. Joe Hart, City's goalkeeper,
was not required to make a single testing save.
Garry Cook, City's ambitious new executive chairman, may
recently have dubbed Mark Hughes old-fashioned but this was a
thoroughly modern display from his side. Unfazed by Sunderland's
initially breathless high tempo, City refused to be sucked into
a similar helter-skelter game and, having weathered an initial
storm, eventually offered Keane's men a lesson in intelligent
passing and movement within a flexible 4-3-2-1 system.
"Shaun will rightly get the headlines but there were several
excellent personal performances," enthused Hughes, whose side
were particularly strong in central midfield, where Vincent
Kompany and Dietmar Hamann shone.
How Keane must have rued the hamstring injury which prevented
Anton Ferdinand making his debut after the central defender's
move from West Ham last week. "I'm sure Anton thinks he's got a
chance of getting a game here," reflected Sunderland's manager
drily. "I'll be glad to see the back of one or two players going
on international duty. City did everything better than us and we
could have played all night and not scored. None of my team
performed well."
On a day when Hughes completed the signings of Pablo Zabaleta,
an Argentinian right-back from Espanyol, and Berti, a Brazilian
centre-half on a one-year loan from Nuremberg, City's only
concern was the shoulder injury that forced Micah Richards off
at the interval and out of the England Under-21 squad.
They broke the deadlock when Hamann and Michael Johnson pierced
Sunderland's defence with an incisive pass and a cross. Although
that advance appeared initially to be thwarted by Danny Collins
his attempted block merely succeeded in cueing the ball up for
Ireland, given an attacking brief here, to stroke a shot low
beyond Craig Gordon.
The second half had barely begun when Keane's side were two
down, Sunderland paying a heavy price for failing properly to
clear Hamann's free-kick, eventually leaving Wright-Phillips
free to sidefoot Jo's delicately deflected cross home.
Recently returned from representing Brazil in the Olympics, the
£18m Jo grew insidiously into his lone striker's role and
Sunderland certainly struggled to fathom his often highly
unorthodox game. It is surely only a matter of time before he
scores his first Premier League goal but this was
Wright-Phillips' day and when Michael Ball launched a long
through-ball forward it found him just onside and far more alert
to the potential of such a route-one delivery than Sunderland's
defence. He burst between Collins and Phil Bardsley, then
gleefully flicked the ball beyond the advancing Gordon and on
into the bottom corner.
Man City: Hart, Corluka,
Richards (Ben-Haim 46), Dunne, Michael Ball, Ireland, Hamann,
Johnson (Gelson 81), Kompany, Wright-Phillips (Elano 85), Jo.
Subs Not Used: Schmeichel, Garrido, Evans, Sturridge.
Booked: Richards, Kompany.
Goals: Ireland 45,
Wright-Phillips 50, 58.
Att: 39,622
Ref: Chris Foy (Merseyside).
FC Midtjylland
0 Manchester City 1 Euro Pain Relief
Thursday, 28th August 2008
Man City win 4-2 on penalties
Manchester City had goalkeeper Joe Hart to thank as they
fortuitously progressed to the Uefa Cup first round with a
penalty shoot-out victory over FC Midtjylland.
Having lost 1-0 in the first leg at Eastlands earlier this
month, City knew the size of the task ahead in their second
qualifying round return leg at the SAS Arena in Herning.
But after an abject display in normal time it was only an own
goal by defender Danny Califf in the 89th minute which forced
extra-time and extended their interest in the competition.
And when Hart saved two penalties in the shoot-out, it was left
to Vedran Corluka to stroke home the kick to spare City's
blushes.
City, who reached the preliminary stages by virtue of their
position in last season's Fair Play league, had faced a stern
test against a well-organised and dynamic counter-attacking
Danish side and were clearly the poorer of the two teams for the
majority of the game.
They were boosted before kick-off by Micah Richards' rapid
recovery from concussion and also by the signing of Shaun
Wright-Phillips from Chelsea.
With Gelson Fernandes left amongst the substitutes, Richards was
preferred in midfield while Corluka lined up at right-back.
A sixth-minute Elano corner was only partially cleared, allowing
Martin Petrov to hook the ball back into the area but Stephen
Ireland fired wide on the half-volley as City looked to score
the early goal.
Barely a minute later they needed goalkeeper Hart to keep the
tie alive however.
When Jonas Borring beat the offside trap he looked set to double
his side's aggregate lead, only for the England Under-21
international to make a smart save.
While Jo and Elano saw speculative shots fail miserably Borring,
the Danes' chief playmaker, was proving to be more effective and
had another well-struck shot comfortably saved by Hart.
First-leg goalscorer Danny Olsen had the best chance of the
match up to that point when he moved to side-foot home Borring's
low centre in the 28th minute, only to be denied by an excellent
sliding block by left-back Michael Ball.
City continued to labour, devoid of creative ideas, until Jo
headed out to the left flank and forced Midtjylland to scramble
his cross clear, while Petrov fired in an effort from an acute
angle which Lasse Heinze got down well to save two minutes
before the break.
City won a corner early in the second half when Jo was beaten to
a header and from the resulting set-piece, Richards' header was
blocked before Petrov's shot was similarly turned away.
Hughes sent on Dietmar Hamann and Daniel Sturridge for Tal Ben-Haim
and Elano shortly before the hour mark with Richards moving into
central defence.
Hart was forced into action to clear the danger on the edge of
his area after Mikkel Thygesen found himself through on goal
beyond the flat-footed City defence.
Midtjylland boss Thomas Thomasberg sent on young striker Collins
Babatunde for Jude Ikechukwu Nworuh.
Substitute Collins almost made an immediate impact with a
glanced header but saw his effort fly narrowly wide of the far
post only for two more dangerous chances to also go to waste.
Richards was booked for an innocuous-looking challenge before
Claus Madsen was introduced by the home team.
Ched Evans was sent on for the disappointingly ineffective
Jo and soon had an impact.
The goal City craved so desperately came from nothing in the
89th minute when Ched Evans flicked on Ball's cross and the ball
was deflected past despairing goalkeeper Heinze by defender
Califf.
Extra-time began without incident until the 96th minute, when
Sturridge expertly put Michael Johnson through on goal only for
the midfielder to see his effort saved by the advancing Heinze.
When the ball was crossed back into the area, Ireland could not
head on target.
Sturridge was looking lively and struck the bar in the 103rd
minute after receiving the ball on the right following Hamann's
brilliant tackle outside the Midtjylland area.
In the second half Gheorge Florescu struck a powerful shot but
Hart got down to hold on to the ball while Johnson fired just
wide five minutes later.
Hart was forced to tip the ball over the bar when substitute
Frank Kristensen shot on the turn in the 117th minute but
penalties beckoned when neither side produced a winning goal.
Evans took the first penalty and scored with a fine shot into
the top corner while Petrov comfortably converted his. Then
after Winston Reid and Christopher Poulsen also scored, Johnson
saw Heinze dive to save his weakly struck spot-kick.
Borring also saw his saved, however, before Hamann's kick beat
the goalkeeper.
Hart then gave his side the advantage when he saved Kolja
Afriyie's kick leaving Corluka to coolly convert his kick
to send Man City through.
Manchester City 3
West Ham Utd 0 Well Ammered
Sunday 24th August 2008 :
David Howels for GYKO at the COMSTAD
Manchester
City put their off-the-field troubles to one side for the
afternoon, with Daniel Sturridge and Elano scoring the goals to
give Mark Hughes's side a comfortable 3-0 victory against 10-man
West Ham.
The uncertainty surrounding Thaksin
Shinawatra's future at the City of Manchester Stadium -
Thailand's former prime minister, who fled his homeland this
month in the face of corruption charges, has said he could stand
down from the City board in order to satisfy the Premier
League's fit-and-proper-person test - has overshadowed Hughes's
efforts to develop a winning side.
The 18-year-old Sturridge provided some much needed relief,
however, thumping the ball into the roof of the net to break
West Ham's stubborn resistance midway through the second half.
Matthew Upson failed to clear his lines and Sturridge gave
Robert Green no chance in the Hammers' goal to score his first
goal of the season and the third of his fledgling career.
Five minutes later Stephen Ireland made progress down the City
right and crossed for Elano to double the home side's lead,
calmly slotting home from 10 yards with Green stranded and his
defence in disarray. The same combination did the trick for City
six minutes later, with Ireland pulling back for Elano to volley
confidently passed Green.
It was not an entirely satisfactory afternoon for Hughes,
however. Just after half-time Micah Richards was left
unconscious after a collision with Tal Ben Haim. After eight
minutes of treatment the England defender was carried off, and,
although he came round in the dressing room, was taken to
Manchester Royal Infirmary for checks. To compound matters, the
substitute Kelvin Etuhu also limped off with a suspected
hamstring injury.
It was also a difficult afternoon for the visitors. Carlton Cole
hobbled off after 31 minutes, and seven minutes before half-time
they were reduced to 10 men after Mark Noble picked up a second
yellow card. His first booking came after a ill-advised
deliberate hand-ball and his wild lunge on Michael Johnson left
Howard Webb with little choice.
From that point on West Ham were on the back foot and struggling
to keep City at bay. Martin Petrov had already hit the post with
a free-kick and Calum Davenport had deflected a shot on to his
own bar and after the red card Johnson forced Green into a
superb save with a stinging drive from the edge of the area. It
appeared only a matter of time before the Hammers' back line was
breached, however, and once Sturridge had given City the lead
there was no route back for Alan Curbishley's side.
Man City: Hart, Corluka,
Richards (Hamann 54), Ben-Haim, Michael Ball, Ireland, Kompany,
Johnson, Petrov (Etuhu 77), Elano (Evans 77), Sturridge.
Subs Not Used: Schmeichel, Garrido, Gelson, Caicedo.
Goals: Sturridge 65, Elano 70,
76.
West Ham: Green, Behrami,
Davenport, Upson, Neill, Faubert, Noble, Parker, Etherington
(Boa Morte 74), Ashton, Cole (Sears 31), Sears (Mullins 46).
Subs Not Used: Lastuvka, Reid, Bowyer, Spence.
Sent Off: Noble (38).
Booked: Behrami, Noble.
Att: 36,635
Ref: Howard Webb (S
Yorkshire).
Aston Villa 4
Manchester City 2 Here we go again
folks
Sunday 17th August 2008 :
Trevor Sculley for GYKO at Villa Park
Gabriel
Agbonlahor bounced back from his England snub with an
eight-minute hat-trick as Aston Villa poured more misery on Mark
Hughes' side in the Barclays Premier League opener at Villa
Park. Agbonlahor was left out of the squad by Fabio Capello for
Wednesday's friendly with the Czech Republic
but took out any disappointment he may have been feeling on
Manchester City in devastating fashion. It was also a perfect
way for Agbonlahor to celebrate after signing a new four-year
contract with Villa on Thursday.
His Villa team-mate Ashley Young, another overlooked by Capello,
was also in impressive form as he laid on two goals in an
excellent all-round display by Martin O'Neill's side. They
attacked with great purpose, with John Carew dominating in the
air, while City only managed to threaten sporadically.
It was another blow for City after the shock Uefa Cup reversal
by Danish side FC Midtjylland on Thursday. Little went right
after they suffered a pre-match setback which required them to
revise their line-up. Striker Valeri Bojinov was injured in the
warm-up, forcing Mark Hughes to field 19-year-old Ched Evans and
draft Felipe Caicedo in as a substitute. It had been scheduled
to be Bojinov's first competitive game after a year out with a
knee injury, sustained against Manchester United, and he
appeared on the touch-line at the start of the second period
with his right leg in plaster.
Villa made a promising start with Carew, who caused problems in
the air all afternoon, twice close to breaking the deadlock. The
Norwegian was first to react to a corner from Ashley Young but
his glancing header flew just past the far post. Then the Villa
striker got on the end of another corner - this time by Gareth
Barry - and forced Joe Hart to save away to his right.
Michael Johnson blocked a close-range drive from Ashley Young
and Carew's first-time low drive had Hart sprawling across his
goal to collect. City threatened for the first time when Kelvin
Etuhu went past Nicky Shorey on the outside before firing a low
attempt across the face of Brad Friedel's goal, though no-one
was able to apply a finishing touch. But then want-away
midfielder Barry squandered a good opportunity for Villa after
26 minutes. Nigel Reo-Coker burst down the right flank and his
powerful cross was only parried by Hart into the path of Barry
who hooked the ball wide from eight yards out.
Brad Friedel had to make his first save of note after 30 minutes
when he got his body behind Martin Petrov's low drive after good
play by Gelson Fernandes set up the opportunity. City defender
Tal Ben Haim became the first player to receive a yellow card
after 33 minutes for a late challenge on Barry, with the England
midfielder requiring treatment before he was able to continue.
Villa needed only two minutes of the second period to break the
deadlock through Carew - Villa's top marksman last season with
13 goals. Barry found Ashley Young in space on the left flank
and the winger sent over the kind of pinpoint cross which Carew
thrives, with the striker sending a powerful header past Hart
from six-yards out. City tried to respond instantly and Luke
Young did well to block a powerful drive from 15-yards out by
Elano. Friedel finger-tipped a low cross-shot from Garrido
around the post and Martin Petrov volleyed into the side
netting.
But it needed a mix-up between Luke Young and Shorey to present
City with an equaliser after 63 minutes. There appeared to be
little danger but the two full-backs hesitated and let in
Michael Johnson who was eventually brought down by Luke Young in
the box. Referee Phil Dowd immediately pointed to the penalty
spot and Elano sent Friedel the wrong way.
Villa, however, needed only five minutes to regain the lead
through Agbonlahor. Young's corner was turned back across goal
by Curtis Davies and Agbonlahor beat Hart with a right-foot
volley. Within five minutes Agbonlahor had struck again to
double Villa's lead. Young picked out the overlapping Barry and
his cross was headed home by the England Under-21 player.
Then in the 76th minute Agbonlahor completed his first senior
hat-trick when he raced onto a Barry through-ball and clipped
the ball past Hart. Corluka scored an 89th minute consolation
goal for City but they were well beaten by the final whistle.
Aston Villa: Friedel, Luke
Young, Davies, Laursen, Shorey, Reo-Coker, Petrov, Barry, Ashley
Young, Agbonlahor, Carew.
Subs Not Used: Taylor, Harewood, Knight, Salifou, Routledge,
Gardner, Osbourne.
Goals: Carew 47, Agbonlahor
69, 74, 76.
Man City: Hart, Corluka,
Richards, Ben-Haim, Garrido, Etuhu, Gelson (Ireland 81),
Johnson, Petrov, Elano, Evans (Sturridge 81).
Subs Not Used: Schmeichel, Michael Ball, Onuoha, Caicedo, Hamann.
Booked: Ben-Haim.
Goals: Elano 64 pen, Corluka
89.
Att: 39,955
Ref: Phil Dowd (Staffordshire).
QUICK NAVIGATION
Manchester City 0
FC Midtjlland 1
Eurocrap
Thursday 14th August 2008 :
Get Your Kits Out frustrated at the COMSTAD
Mark Hughes
may still be getting used to life at his new club but he will
understand now why Sir Alex Ferguson likes to refer to the City
of Manchester Stadium as the "Temple of Doom". Even for a club
of City's occasionally wretched standards this was a shocking
performance and another test of loyalty for their long-suffering
fans. There were shouts of "rubbish" from the largely deserted
stands and, for their new manager, that represents just about
the worst start he could have imagined.
Hughes chose his words carefully not to come across as overly
critical, restricting himself to saying he expected a
"significantly improved" performance when City begin their
Premier League campaign at Aston Villa on Sunday, but his body
language was of a man who seemed taken aback by what he had
witnessed, and understandably so.
It was a night of tragicomedy that encompassed loud boos at
half-time and even more vehement dissent at the final whistle.
In between the supporters largely watched in silence. The
stadium was two-thirds empty and the spectacle could hardly have
been further removed from Thaksin Shinawatra's masterplan, circa
2007, of full houses and exciting football.
Thaksin had chosen to stay away, as he ponders how to fight
Thailand's extradition process, and on the evidence of this
performance it is difficult to know where his club go from here.
Hughes will surely not have anticipated hearing his team being
barracked by their own fans 20 minutes into their first game
inside their own ground. Visibly angry, he could be seen shaking
his head in disgust, shocked by his players' efforts, and will
certainly be looking for a drastic improvement, to say the
least, when City travel to Denmark's Jutland peninsula for the
return leg on August 28.
"We will need to be a lot better than we have shown tonight,"
Hughes said. "We desperately needed a spark, some quality, but
we just didn't have it. We under-performed - there's no getting
away from it."
City's supporters were certainly entitled to be aggrieved given
the number of misplaced passes during the more disjointed phases
of play and the failure of anyone in blue to grab the game by
its lapels and do something about it. When a new manager is
appointed, it usually coincides with an upturn in the players'
performances and a positive vibe.
For long spells last night the opposite was true. Inside the
first half alone there was the sight of Michael Johnson giving
up on a ball that, with a touch more effort, he might have
caught, a sin that did not go unnoticed by the supporters close
to the corner flag. The lethargy seemed contagious and Hughes'
feelings were abundantly clear, at one point rising from his
seat and kicking a water bottle in frustration.
The decisive moment, in the 15th minute, was typical of the
evening, starting with Richard Dunne losing the ball in his own
half. The team from Herning broke with pace and purpose and two
passes later Danny Olsen was free to pick his spot, scoring with
an angled drive into the bottom right-hand corner of Joe Hart's
net.
City did not get going until Daniel Sturridge curled a shot
against the crossbar three minutes before the interval and,
though there was an improvement in the second half, there were
only sporadic moments when they threatened the Danes' goal.
Throughout there was the sense that they could cave in if placed
under sustained pressure.
Having saved Vedran Corluka from scoring an own-goal, Martin
Petrov emulated Sturridge by striking the crossbar but City's
frustrations were encapsulated by Johnson swinging his elbow at
the substitute Dennis Flinta, an offence that will come under
Uefa's scrutiny.
Five years after their last European adventure ended in
embarrassment against the Polish side Groclin Grodzisk, City now
face the serious threat of being eliminated by another of
Europe's unpronounceables. It is hardly what Thaksin promised.
Manchester
City 2 Streymur 0 City Make UEFA
Progress Thursday 31 Jul 2008: Andy Gillis for GYKO at
Oakwell, Barnsley
Second half strikes from Martin Petrov and Darius Vassel were
enough to secure Manchester City a place in the UEFA Cup second
qualifying round.
The Bulgarian found the net three minutes after the restart
following a hard-fought first period,
before Vassel made it two in injury-time. The game was held at
Barnsley's Oakwell ground because the pitch at City's Eastlands
Stadium has recently been relaid and is currently unplayable.
As a result, the match was poorly attended, with the ground only
half full.
Mark Hughes made a handful of changes from the first leg, which
City also won 2-0.
Vedran Corluka, Elando, Gelson Fernandes and Daniel Sturridge
all played, with Jo and first leg goalscorer Dietmar Hamann
absent, along Nedum Onuoha and Stephen Ireland.
The hosts started the brighter, with Sturridge and Darius Vassel
almost scoring in the opening five minutes.
Streymur found their first opening on the half-hour mark when
Sorin Anghel broke through, but his effort hit the side-netting.
It was a rare foray into the City danger area though and the
hosts continued to pressure their opponents in the build-up to
half-time and came close to taking the lead through Petrov.
The winger rose highest to meet Michael Johnson's corner, but
his header thundered off the crossbar and flew into the crowd.
Sturridge then saw a header cleared off the line, while Petrov
again went close with a fierce volley which this time hit the
post. However, he and City were not to be denied much longer.
Just three minutes into the second half Vassel broke down the
right and whipped a neat ball in to Petrov, who smashed in with
a powerful volley.
It seemed this would be the key to unlock the floodgates, but
City continued to be frustrated.
Visiting keeper Rene Torgard was on fine form, and he kept Elano
out on a number of occassions.
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Johnson, Evans and substitute Hamaan all saw chances go begging
as City continued to dominate in the later stages.
Vassel finally added the second in injury time after rounding
the keeper following Evans's neat flick-on.
But Hughes will know his side can't be this wasteful when the
Premier League starts up in a little over two weeks' time
EB Streymur 0
Manchester City 2
Thursday July 17th 2008 :
Brent Fordham in The Faroe Isles for GYKO
Dietmar Hamann celebrates his
first-half volley with Stephen Ireland.
Mark Hughes got his Manchester City reign
off to a winning start last night in the unlikely surroundings
of the Faroe Islands. First-half goals from Martin Petrov and
Dietmar Hamann gave City a comfortable victory in this Uefa Cup
first qualifying round first-leg tie, seemingly making the
return on July 31 at Oakwell a formality.
Hughes deemed the evening a success and
was particularly satisfied with the competitive debut of Jo, the
club's £19m striker, and the promising form of Petrov, the
Bulgarian midfielder who impressed in the early stages of last
season.
"We created good chances and I was pleased
with Jo's performance. He showed great awareness of players
around him, and once he gets to know the players and the way we
want to play he will be a big asset to us," said Hughes. "Petrov
was excellent, certainly in the first half. The opposition found
it difficult to cope with the quality he has. He put a lot of
dangerous crosses into the box and with luck we could have
converted more. He got us off on the right foot with that
opening goal and pushed us towards a good performance all round.
"We hope he will be providing a lot of
goals this season. He has the ability to go past people and
break through the lines. When you have someone like that with
the technical ability to affect the game positively like that,
it gives you a lot more options."
City were rarely troubled by their
part-time opponents, despite a commendable effort from the Faroe
league leaders. City had the quality in Petrov and the
organisation of Richard Dunne, Micah Richards and Michael
Johnson, but should have scored a few more and claimed the
resounding victory many felt was on the cards.
City took the lead after nine minutes when
Stephen Ireland's ball sent Darius Vassell away down the right
channel, the ensuing cross was dummied by Johnson and Petrov
slammed the ball into the far top corner. After 28 minutes it
was 2-0, with Petrov again involved. The Bulgarian's corner was
only half-cleared to the edge of the box, where Hamann volleyed
it firmly with the outside of his left foot.
City should have added to their tally
before the interval when Petrov's cross presented Jo with a
diving header but he flashed the effort wide of the post.
However, Streymur started the second half with a flurry of
defiance. Johnson was booked for a foul on Arnbjorn Hansen and
the free-kick by Barour Olsen 30 yards out forced Joe Hart into
a fumbled save.
City undoubtedly eased up, which even
against part-timers is dangerous when they are match-sharp and
midway through their season. Hughes's team sought a third goal,
and it almost came after 56 minutes when Jo nodded down for
Vassell to see a shot deflected wide. Then Petrov sent a dipping
drive just over.
EB Streymur: Torgard, Bo,
Clementsen, Djurhuus, Foldgast (Davidsen 85), Bardur Olsen,
Jacobsen (Brian Olsen 76), Hans Pauli Samuelsen (Eliasen 77),
Hanssen, Arnbjorn Hansen, Niclassen.
Subs Not Used: Magnus Poulsen, Balog, Kruse, Thomassen.
Man City: Hart, Onuoha, Dunne,
Richards, Ball, Ireland, Hamann (Gelson 74), Johnson, Petrov,
Vassell, Jo (Evans 74).
Subs Not Used: Schmeichel, Corluka, Elano, Mwaruwari, Castillo.
winger, who rejoined City from Chelsea for £9m on Thursday,
scored two second-half goals and left the Sunderland defence
bamboozled by his licence to roam in a withdrawn attacking role.
Shinawatra's future at the City of Manchester Stadium -
Thailand's former prime minister, who fled his homeland this
month in the face of corruption charges, has said he could stand
down from the City board in order to satisfy the Premier
League's fit-and-proper-person test - has overshadowed Hughes's
efforts to develop a winning side.
but took out any disappointment he may have been feeling on
Manchester City in devastating fashion. It was also a perfect
way for Agbonlahor to celebrate after signing a new four-year
contract with Villa on Thursday.
before Vassel made it two in injury-time. The game was held at
Barnsley's Oakwell ground because the pitch at City's Eastlands
Stadium has recently been relaid and is currently unplayable.