MANCHESTER UNITED 0-2 COVENTRY CITY BY KEV MONKS
Team
Marshall, Osbourne (McNamee 88),Borrowdale, Ward,Turner,Tabb,Doyle,S.Hughes,R.Simpson,Mifsud, Best (Adebola 92) SNU Konstantopolous,De Zeeuw,Thornton
Man United
Kusczak,Anderson,Nani,Pique,Fanguzho,O'Shea,Evans (Carrick 55), D.Simpson,Bardsley (Brown 46), Martin (Campbell 46),Eagles SNU Heaton,Eckersley
HT MUFC 0-1 CCFC FT MUFC 0-2 CCFC
Referee M.Halsey Booked Pique
Goals Michael Mifsud (26 & 70)
Att 74,055
Man Of The Match - Every City player who played was superb and this was a great team performance.
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STARTING FORMATION
Best Mifsud
Team
Marshall, Osbourne (McNamee 88),Borrowdale, Ward,Turner,Tabb,Doyle,S.Hughes,R.Simpson,Mifsud, Best (Adebola 92) SNU Konstantopolous,De Zeeuw,Thornton
Man United
Kusczak,Anderson,Nani,Pique,Fanguzho,O'Shea,Evans (Carrick 55), D.Simpson,Bardsley (Brown 46), Martin (Campbell 46),Eagles SNU Heaton,Eckersley
HT MUFC 0-1 CCFC FT MUFC 0-2 CCFC
Referee M.Halsey Booked Pique
Goals Michael Mifsud (26 & 70)
Att 74,055
Man Of The Match - Every City player who played was superb and this was a great team performance.
____________________________
STARTING FORMATION
Best Mifsud
Simpson
Tabb Hughes Doyle
Borrowdale Turner Ward Osbourne
Marshall
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GROUND
Old Trafford is a superb stadium with a 75,000 capacity. Most of the stands have three tiers and offer a great view if you don't mind heights.
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After the defeat at Ipswich on Saturday,most City supporters rated the chance of a victory at Old Trafford in smidgens but what they got was one of the great nights in the Sky Blue history as the Sky Blues knocked Manchester United out of the League Cup with a 2-0 win at Old Trafford.
The Sky Blue Army turned up en masse and the 11,000 City supporters arrived at Old Trafford, by car,coach,train and plane. Kids were dragged out of school,college lectures were missed whilst others took time off work or phoned in sick to turn the M6 into a Sky Blue super highway.
Outside the Lowry Centre,it was like an England away game with the Sky Blue Song blasting out around the square which has beautifully replaced some barren land on the other side of the river to Old Trafford.
We made our way into The Theatre Of Dreams and the atmosphere continued.
Any nerves about us getting thrashed faded as Alex Ferguson named a virtual reserve side without Wayne Rooney. It did however contain six internationals with Nani,Anderson and John O'Shea who would walk in to any Championship team all starting.
Iain Dowie also made changes with Andy Marshall in goal, Elliott Ward and Ben Turner in defence plus Robbie Simpson and Michael Mifsud up front.
We cheered and sang as City attacked a Stretford End fuller than it would have normally been for a League Cup tie due to United's policy of forcing season ticket holders to pay for cup tickets ,but nowhere near full enough for the published attendance figure of 74,055.
The home side were not given time to settle all night. They were closed down every time a United player got the ball and battled to be first for the second ball.
Stephen Hughes continued his spell of good performances and had the first free kick of the game which struck the wall.
Andy Marshall,who had been a winner at Old Trafford with Millwall in an FA Cup Semi Final,looked safe as houses all night.
He was unlucky when a 5th minute clearance bounced back to Nani but the Portuguese player fired well wide.
Leon Best worked hard up front and was unlucky with a shot on the turn which went wide.
Ben Turner had made a superb defensive clearance to stop Eagles and then City attacked down after Leon Best had sprayed the ball to the left.
The 26th minute cross came over from Michael Doyle and there was Michael Mifsud (although Doyle was named on the scoreboard), to volley with his right foot into the net.
If football is better than sex then eleven thousand City supporters as one reached a climax going absolutely mental as the ball hit the net.
When the celebrations had died down,City stuck to their game plan and continued to look for chances.
Robbie Simpson was involved with the three chances that Coventry had before the break.
He crossed for Mifsud to flick on to the far post on the half hour mark and fired over with a shot on the turn and in the 42nd minute,sent a dipping drove just over the bar.
Iain Dowie's charges left the pitch to thunderous applause and returned to more for the start of the second half.
Alex Ferguson threw on Wes Brown and Campbell and ten minutes in,brought on former City youngster Michael Carrick who was roundly booed.
"We're All Going To Wembley" sang the City support sensing that a victory twenty years after we had knocked them out the FA Cup, was looking more and more of a possibility.
In the 68th minute,Andy Marshall made an absolutely crucial save pushing the ball away from a Fanguzho header.
The Sky Blue Army turned up en masse and the 11,000 City supporters arrived at Old Trafford, by car,coach,train and plane. Kids were dragged out of school,college lectures were missed whilst others took time off work or phoned in sick to turn the M6 into a Sky Blue super highway.
Outside the Lowry Centre,it was like an England away game with the Sky Blue Song blasting out around the square which has beautifully replaced some barren land on the other side of the river to Old Trafford.
We made our way into The Theatre Of Dreams and the atmosphere continued.
Any nerves about us getting thrashed faded as Alex Ferguson named a virtual reserve side without Wayne Rooney. It did however contain six internationals with Nani,Anderson and John O'Shea who would walk in to any Championship team all starting.
Iain Dowie also made changes with Andy Marshall in goal, Elliott Ward and Ben Turner in defence plus Robbie Simpson and Michael Mifsud up front.
We cheered and sang as City attacked a Stretford End fuller than it would have normally been for a League Cup tie due to United's policy of forcing season ticket holders to pay for cup tickets ,but nowhere near full enough for the published attendance figure of 74,055.
The home side were not given time to settle all night. They were closed down every time a United player got the ball and battled to be first for the second ball.
Stephen Hughes continued his spell of good performances and had the first free kick of the game which struck the wall.
Andy Marshall,who had been a winner at Old Trafford with Millwall in an FA Cup Semi Final,looked safe as houses all night.
He was unlucky when a 5th minute clearance bounced back to Nani but the Portuguese player fired well wide.
Leon Best worked hard up front and was unlucky with a shot on the turn which went wide.
Ben Turner had made a superb defensive clearance to stop Eagles and then City attacked down after Leon Best had sprayed the ball to the left.
The 26th minute cross came over from Michael Doyle and there was Michael Mifsud (although Doyle was named on the scoreboard), to volley with his right foot into the net.
If football is better than sex then eleven thousand City supporters as one reached a climax going absolutely mental as the ball hit the net.
When the celebrations had died down,City stuck to their game plan and continued to look for chances.
Robbie Simpson was involved with the three chances that Coventry had before the break.
He crossed for Mifsud to flick on to the far post on the half hour mark and fired over with a shot on the turn and in the 42nd minute,sent a dipping drove just over the bar.
Iain Dowie's charges left the pitch to thunderous applause and returned to more for the start of the second half.
Alex Ferguson threw on Wes Brown and Campbell and ten minutes in,brought on former City youngster Michael Carrick who was roundly booed.
"We're All Going To Wembley" sang the City support sensing that a victory twenty years after we had knocked them out the FA Cup, was looking more and more of a possibility.
In the 68th minute,Andy Marshall made an absolutely crucial save pushing the ball away from a Fanguzho header.
City cleared their lines. Stephen Hughes pumped the ball forward for Mifsud to chase. The industrious Jay Tabb burst forward in the box and pushed the ball forward. Just as the Irishman primed himself to shoot. Michael Mifsud thumped the ball into the net from sixteen yards.
Again the celebrations were mental with hoarse voiced City supporters hugging and diving on fellow supporters whilst the home supporters started to leave in ever increasing numbers.
Ten minutes from time, Gerard Pique fouled Best and got away with a ticking off from referee Mr Halsey rather than a second yellow.
Hughes again took the free kick. It beat the wall and Kusczak pushed it into the path of Mifsud.
The Maltese international snatched at it and his chances of a well deserved hat-trick went astray.
Isaac Osbourne, who was superb once again was replaced by David McNamee. The Scot, who played for 62 minutes for the reserves at Wolves, made three interceptions before Leon Best got a standing ovation when he was replaced in stoppage time by Dele Adebola.
By now,only the visitor's end was still full and we went ballistic as the final whistle blew and City booked their place in Round Four.
SUPPORTERS VIEW
Again the celebrations were mental with hoarse voiced City supporters hugging and diving on fellow supporters whilst the home supporters started to leave in ever increasing numbers.
Ten minutes from time, Gerard Pique fouled Best and got away with a ticking off from referee Mr Halsey rather than a second yellow.
Hughes again took the free kick. It beat the wall and Kusczak pushed it into the path of Mifsud.
The Maltese international snatched at it and his chances of a well deserved hat-trick went astray.
Isaac Osbourne, who was superb once again was replaced by David McNamee. The Scot, who played for 62 minutes for the reserves at Wolves, made three interceptions before Leon Best got a standing ovation when he was replaced in stoppage time by Dele Adebola.
By now,only the visitor's end was still full and we went ballistic as the final whistle blew and City booked their place in Round Four.
SUPPORTERS VIEW
Laura from Canley said after the game: "City were excellent from start to finish and we never looked under pressure. "Our fans were brilliant but the Man United fans were crap by not singing and leaving early."