Tuesday, March 03, 2009

Back to winning ways: City 3-1 Barnsley

This was more relief than pleasure. After a run of games starting with the FA Cup loss to Arsenal, City have looked ineffective, tired, out of sorts and generally completely unlike contenders for the Premiership. With our games in hand slowly running out, it was important to put 3 points on the board, and we did.

Barnsely, struggling at the wrong end of the division, came to win points by kicking us, and their number 12, Teymourian was yellow carded early and could have been sent off before half time. In the event, he went in the second half!

Ledley eased City nerves after just four minutes with a close range effort, and Chopra doubled the lead just before half time also with a close range effort. Were it not for the stretch of their 9ft goalie, it would have been three after Peter Whittingham's kick was pushed round the post.

That should have been that, but in true City style, we came out after the break, gave easy balls away and stood off. Barnsely to their credit kept coming, and Macken scored for them with his first touch 10 seconds after coming on as a sub.

Once Teymourian went though, the game opened up for City, and the introduction of Quincy beathed fresh life into the boys in blue, and he set up Whittingham for a peach of a third - the first time City have netted three times this term. And that, was that.

A special mention to Eddie Johnson, our on-loan striker from Fulham. He's been sat warming the nbecnh for most of the season, collecting 16 grand a week for the priviledge. When he has had chances (few and far between), he's looked as likely to score as my cat. Tonight he worked his socks off, and the 15,000 crowd got behind him and cheered everything (at least I think it was cheering). In the end he got the fans MoM award. He's still a donkey, but I hope he gets at least one goal before we inevitably let him go at the end of the season. He'd go down in Bluebirds history, alongside Leo Fortune-West (who could actually score) and Andy Campbell, who scored one of our most famous goals in the play-off final all those years ago, but was about as bad as they come.

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