Sunderland 0 City 1 - Skoorb on the Spot

Skoorb

Skoorb

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#Resilient

In a momentous week for Manchester City Football Club it was time for a resilient performance at the Stadium of Light from the Blues. In what commentators would euphemistically call a 'hard fought' encounter City once again faced weak refereeing which saw Jermaine Defoe remain on the pitch for two challenges with his arm, the second of which should certainly have generated a red card from the referee, Stuart Attwell. Indeed he pretty much kept his cards in his pocket until the dying embers of the game when, bowing to the baying from the home crowd, he opted to issue the players in blue a series of yellow cards to try and pacify them. City held out thought to keep up the pressure on the leaders Leicester who despatched the People's Champions and maintained their 3 point lead. Pep Guardiola take note - you underestimate teams int he Premier League at your peril. Taking three points away from home on a windy night in February when the opposition are trying to kick the **** out of you - those are the games that deliver titles in this league. In the past and even this season, City's brittle defence might have crumbled in the face of a spirited display by this relegation threatened former bogey team. Our charming and professional manager has won many plaudits this week and all season for the dignified way in which he has conducted himself in the face of the speculation regarding the 'elephant in the room' that was Pep Guardiola. Pellegrini once again showed that he too has learnt his lesson and sent his team out to take the game to their opponents and in selecting Iheanacho to partner Aguero he got his just rewards when in the sixteenth minute the space that this tactic created was exploited to the full by Sergio. For once the ball ran kindly for City when a Navas cross took a slight deflection and found the deadliest striker in the league - he stepped away from his marker and clipped the ball past Manone with the outside of his right boot. Class act. The crass and cheap raking of Aguero's calf by O'Shea as he disguised his desperate fall is nothing less than we have come to expect from the defenders in this league who figure that if they can't live with Aguero then they might as well try and disfigure him. Joe Hart did his part with some superb saves and the rest of the team showed the sort of resilience and character that had been lacking in some of the earlier defeats this season to get the team over the line. The only fly in the ointment was the sight of Navas leaving the scene having suffered a hamstring injury. This is a blow for sure so soon after the loss of De Bruyne especially as Navas was showing his best form for some time. This may not have been the emphatic result and performance that would get people purring with delight but it delivered the outcome to match the statement made by the board earlier in the week.

Since the takeover in 2008 the club and its supporters have had to put up with the same old tired cliches as the rest of the footballing world hoped that the whole thing was just a fad. A passing phase, a rich man's plaything....it won't last they all said. Well, the players followed up that statement of intent with one of their own tonight and they showed that they respect their current manager and the sort of character that ought to impress the incoming coach, a person renowned for his appreciation of honest hard working players. The owners have a plan. The pieces of that plan have been being put into place over the past eight years and that have this week secured the services of the world renowned coach they have courted since 2012. The journey is not over and the club continues to grow and thrive in a myriad of different ways. It is a joy to behold.

Next up......the league leaders and current media darlings, the side that can do no wrong, Leicester City.
 
We will have to play a lot better that tonight against a very serious contender for the Title, it should be a cracking match.

Excellent post report Skoorb thank you.
 
Good write up Skoorb, on the last bit, I'm enjoying Leicester's run particularly the fact that Ranieri is sticking two fingers up to Roman. Naturally I still want us to smash them this weekend, they can go back to winning after that.

As for Defoe, it baffles me that Atwell can give a free for that first challenge on Demi yet not book him, he led with his arm and caught him across the cheek, very similar to what Chelsea fans were screaming for a red for Fernandinho when he caught Costa, they were backed up by some pundits iirc. To make matters worse he backs into Demi moments later with a raised arm and Atwell gives him a free? WTF? And then if that wasn't bad enough he then goes and does the same to Otter in the second half, how many times ref?

I think it was fairly evident last night that the games are catching up on us, Sunderland had a 10 day rest prior to that game and it showed, after half an hour they had half a yard on us on every challeng, we did well to dig in and hold on to the three points. On that note I have to give Fernando his due, he did his job excellently when he came on.
 
Agree completely BD. Defoe was clearly under instruction IMO from Allardyce to 'get among them' and chose to use that method. Attwell's weak refereeing is not the first that we have seen and it appears to be open season on City players.

O'Shea's rake of his studs down Aguero's calf was shameful and in typical cunning ex-rag fashion he managed to disguise it as n'accident' but he definitely extended his leg knowing he could not reach the ball and it was deliberate. Not surprised that wasn't seen but Defoe should have walked. He waited until he reached the 'safety zone' in the dying minutes before he finally caved into the baying of the home fans. The absence of any real comment on the feed i was watching was telling on both sets of incidents - they didn't even mention O'Shea and Defoe's challenges were passed over pretty much.

I don't ever want to get into the Fergie mind games thing but there are times when not saying anything just seems to invite opposition players to think they can get away with anything. And they pretty much are with our players generally unable to win free kicks for the same type of contact they are penalised for. Very frustrating.
 
Skoorb on the Sport - http://www.manchestercity.vitalfootball.co.uk/matchrep.asp?a=561698

Cracking report :hat off:
 
Just a mention on Kelechi, a different game last night but to be fair to him he did well early on but he is young and two games in succession may be just too much at this stage and was somewhat ganged up on and Pellers did well to take him out and rest him.

My fear is that Aguero may get some reaction to his studded calf, I am sure it was Jones and not O'Shea (although the ex rag will always be in my thoughts having missed a sitter from 1 foot in a derby match) Skoorb, but I will have another look.
 
Yes Pellegrini diid well to recognise that and take him out of the fray - another chapter in his footballing experience though.

i'll have a look at the Aguero incident too - I would not be surprised if there wasn't some bruising at least. It was a nasty, spiteful challenge
 
Whoever it was I am getting thoroughly sick to the back teeth of our players getting he cr*p kicked (or elbowed) out of them virtually every match with little or NO sanction from the officials.
 
what worse is that if SA10 had missed, I dont think the Ref would have given a penalty, because he ignored everything else.
 
So, as it stands, a top three of City, Leicester, and Spurs would make Sky and the BBC absolutely mad, and I love the prospect of it.

It's the beginning of February, so Sunderland have finally decided to start playing football to stay in the league. We've seen it every year, and I'm just glad this time around the 1-0 was in our favor.

I think it was hard fought, and that Sunderland got away with quite a few fouls that went completely unpunished. Defoe could have been sent off twice for his elbow and he didn't even get booked.
 
*Correction* It was indeed Billy Jones who deliberately raked his studs down the back of Sergio Aguero's calf as he scored the goal last night. I retract my earlier accusation of ex-rag John O'Shea. I do not retract my view that it was intentional, spiteful, could have caused serious injury and as such would have been worthy of a red card for serious foul play.

But as we witnessed again last evening it is pretty much kpgoing to take a City player to get literally cut in half before an opponent will get booked by a referee these days. :no:
 
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