Manchester City - 2 (Jobson 42. Taylor 60.)
Crystal Palace - 1 (Morrison 39.)

Security was beefed up for Steve Coppell's return to Maine Road, following his short tenure as manager of the team, for 33 days a couple of seasons ago. As it turned out the additional precautions proved unnecessary, the reception being described as "not too bad".

With Manchester City riding high following six games without conceding a goal, and Palace being in their worst position for quite a number of seasons, this match always looked as though it was simply going to be a matter of City by how many goals? That Palace nearly came home with a point is very much to their credit, and just a small improvement will start to see the side once again climbing up the table. Having contrived to get the lead in this match the team appeared guilty of simply trying to protect their lead rather than continuing to attack, and this is a matter that Steve will need to address over the next few weeks.

The game started and very quickly City took control. The longer the game went the stronger the side appeared, though the finishing touches were lacking.

It came as a bit of surprise then, when the first real attack came on goal at the other end, with Fan Zhiyi being denied by only the woodwork. This wake-up call stirred City to even greater action, and Mark Kennedy, by far the home side's best player, started to manage to slip past Jamie Smith on a much more consistent basis. His crosses were proving more and more effective, and it appeared only a matter of time before someone would get on the end of one of his moves to set the side on their inevitable way to victory. The woodwork, and a couple of fine saves from Fraser Digby were all that kept Palace in the match. Having held their own for the best part of the first half, Palace eventually started to make their presence felt. As often happens in matches of this type it was the underdog, Palace, that suddenly forced three consecutive corners, the third one yielding a great dividend for the side. Simon Rodger's cross from the corner flag found Lee Bradbury, who had the presence of mind to flick the ball on for an unmarked Clinton Morrison, who had the simplest of tasks to knock the ball into the back of the net. 1-0 to the visitors, and the home crowd was stunned into silence. The lead was not to last for long though. Kennedy once again made his presence felt, and his cross three minutes after our goal found Richard Jobson in perfect position to head the ball home. 1-1 at half-time, the honours were even, but the home crowd would still have felt somewhat "robbed".

Having got back on to level terms, once again all the pressure was coming from City, with Palace appearing content to try to hang on for a point. Although the pressure was there the finishing touches seemed to be missing from their game, and we were able to hold on to the one hour mark without any further damage. At that point though Terry Cooke sent in a cross, Kevin Horlock's header hit the post but ex-Palace player Gareth Taylor was on hand to head the ball into the back of the net. Despite numerous chances to put the game beyond any possible comeback for Palace, City still appeared to struggle to get the finishing touches that would see the ball once more in the back of the net. As the game meandered along to a final conclusion, it was once again Palace that were looking dangerous on the break.

New man Jose Antunes Fumaca was introduced into the side, and on a number of occasions he looked somewhat dangerous. It would appear he may well be a handy inclusion should we manage to sign him later on. Fan Zhiyi had a header cleared off the line and Morrison hit the ball over the top. Without further ado the referee blew his whistle to signify the end of the game, and a collective sigh of relief could be heard from the home faithful. A game they should have won without too much trouble had nearly cost them the loss of two points, and though Joe Royle would have been pleased with the result, particularly after being behind, he will be well aware that City will need to perform better than this if they are to be a serious threat to those that wish to get promoted this term. Coppell, meanwhile, will have to continue to battle along until this period of Administration is finally settled, and hopefully funds are made available so that he can once again enter the markets for some badly needed new blood.

Colin Pryce

Manchester City: Nicky Weaver, Danny Tiatto (Ian Bishop 55), Richard Jobson, Andy Morrison, Richard Edghill, Mark Kennedy, Jeff Whitley, Kevin Horlock, Terry Cooke (Lee Crooks 75), Paul Dickov (Gareth Taylor 47), Shaun Goater.

Substitutes not used: Daniel Allsop, Richard McKinney.

Crystal Palace: Fraser Digby, Jamie Smith, Andy Linighan, Simon Rodger, Dean Austin, Hayden Mullins, Steve Thomson (Jose Fumaca 72), David Woozley (Nick Rizzo 81), Fan Zhiyi, Clinton Morrison, Lee Bradbury (Matthias Svensson 79).

Substitutes not used: Richard Harris, Matthew Gregg.

Attendance: 31,541

Referee: Mr P Dowd (Stoke-on-Trent).