Derby day live blog and match thread! 4-3 final United

By: Thad | September 19th, 2009

We’ll be live blogging the Manchester derby, with a decidedly blue tint, live from Sunday 1:30 (UK)/8:30 (EDT US)! City have had the better of United five times over the last seven years, including two wins under Kevin Keegan’s regime, once under Stuart Pearce, and twice under Sven Goran-Eriksson. Can Mark Hughes add his name to that list, and can City possibly keep its 100% start to the season going? Despite the absence of Robinho and Adebayor, most City supporters on the message boards are cautiously optimistic, for one simple reason: this is the strongest City side in many years, and right now confidence is at a peak level. Of course, if Carlos Tevez is deemed fit to play, that won’t hurt City’s chances.

Realistically though, most associated with City would certainly settle for a point. In the past seven year’s since City’s most recent promotion, City have tasted defeat at Old Trafford in the league just three times (2003-04, 2006-07, 2008-09), to go with three draws (2002-03, on Shaun Goater’s late equalizer; 2004-05, a heroic nil-nil in which of all people Stephen Jordan figured mightily; and 2005-06, on Joey Barton’s second half equalizer). City also drew at Old Trafford in 2000-01 due to a very late Steve Howey header. Most significant of all, however, was City’s 2-1 defeat of United under Sven in 2008, on the day commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Munich air tragedy.

That day turned out to be the high-water mark of Sven’s time at City. So much has changed since then, and City would like to believe that the days of living in United’s shadow and every derby victory being considered a monumental upset are over, or will be soon enough. Sunday’s match is not the be all and end all, but it’s a certainly another test of just how far City have progressed towards that goal. Come on City!

Pre-match news is that Tevez is fit to play and will start for City. That’s a massive boost. City’s lineup barring any late changes, will be Given, Bridge, Lescott, Toure, Richards, De Jong, Barry, Ireland, Tevez, Bellamy, and Wright-Phillips. Of the men on the bench, many have tapped Zabaleta to potentially have a role to play later on in the match; Petrov may as well. Teenager David Ball has been named to the bench as an emergency striker.

The players are coming out of the tunnel and Carlos Tevez has a big smile on his face–even as he’s met with some booing from United partisans.

United’s lineup includes Berbatov, Rooney, Giggs, Park, Ferdinand, Foster, Rooney, Evra, Anderson, Vidic, Fletcher, O’Shea.

City’s bench: Garrido, Taylor, Weiss, Ball, Zabaleta, Petrov, Sylvinho.

1st minute. City kick off, early spot of trouble is dealt with by Lescott before Berbatov can get a shot off on the edge of the box. City win a free kick.

2nd minute. Tevez closes down Foster and managed to deflect his clearance, but it goes out of bounds. United come back quickly and Richards makes a sliding tackle to put the ball out of bounds–but United score off the throw-in! 1-0 United. It’s Wayne Rooney who scores after Evra got into the box. Nightmare start for City, but it’ll be important not to panic.

4th minute. City didn’t pick up Evra on the throw-in and it proved costly.

6th minute. Derbies are so unpredictable–this could be a match with plenty of goals in it, which is what City want at this point, or it could end up 1-0 United. Right now City just need to get some control. Barry plays the ball out of bounds which won’t help.

8th minute. This is the first time City have trailed this year. Replay clearly shows Richards was at fault on the goal for not tracking Evra after his fine tackle on Rooney. But two City men had the chance to get the ball off Rooney and were not able to before he fired home from about 6 yards.

10th minute. Decent stuff there from City as SWP got on the end of a long ball from De Jong. He played it into the box but it ran all the way through to Foster. Now Bellamy loses the ball over the end line for a goal kick.

13th minute. City are playing the ball around the back to no great effect, other than to calm proceedings down. SWP is playing in a more central role, it seems.

14th minute. Berbatov fires one over the bar from about 25 yards.

15th minute. Tevez got forward and poked it through for Barry, but Barry didn’t anticipate where the pass was going. City counter-attack after Bridge clears it away, but Tevez is tackled.

16th minute. CITY EQUALIZE!!!!!! 1-1. Gareth Barry scored, but CARLOS TEVEZ made that goal!

17th minute. Tevez ran 30 yards to win the ball off Foster’s feet just outside the box, then set up Barry who slotted into an open net from just inside the area. Cool finish. Tevez had just been taunted a bit from the Old Trafford crowd singing “sign him up,” and he responded.

18th minute. Replay shows Rio Ferdinand might have done better on that goal in getting in Tevez’s way, but really that had to be Ben Foster’s ball. Action on the other end now ends with Anderson firing wildly over. Replay shows that Foster was trying to play the ball back into the box so he could pick it up.

21st minute. It’s a new match now with both sides having used guile and hustle to take advantage of napping defenses. It’s hard to say who is having the better of play at the moment but City will need to keep the ball a bit more, one feels.

22nd minute. Toure defuses a dangerous situation there, coming across to clear it out of the box when it looked like Rooney had gotten wrong side of Lescott.

23rd minute. Richards tried to run at 3 defenders after a nice interception, which was a bad idea. But here comes SWP down the right flank after skipping past a defender, he crossed it and Tevez got a head to it, but it goes very tamely over the bar.

25th minute. Both sides are playing very high tempo. De Jong has done really really well for City so far in the middle of the park breaking up attacks.

26th minute. Nice bit of possession there ends when Barry is called for a foul.

27th minute. Tevez picks up the day’s first yellow card for his tackle on Ferdinand. That was a bit unnecessary. City can’t afford for Tevez to get sent off, but we don’t want him getting more cautious either.

28th minute. Ireland whistled for a foul but he got the ball. Now Evra commits a foul. No one is shying away from a tackle in this one!

29th minute. Ireland wins a free kick off Park, 30 yards from goal….

30th minute. Tevez takes it, it caroms off the wall to the left, Bellamy quickly recovers and is brought down by Park, so it’s another free kick for City from the left side of the box.

31st minute. Bellamy bent it towards the near post, where Rooney headed it away–but City keep possession.

33rd minute. Rooney won the ball off Barry there and tried a chipped shot from outside the box, but it’s nowhere close. Goal kick.

35th minute. Anderson and Tevez tangled there and this time it’s the United player who is penalized. Yellow card for Anderson, who came in feet first.

37th minute. Richards is called for a somewhat cheap foul on Giggs–Richards used his arm to brush off the veteran and is called for a foul outside the box. Well-taken by Giggs, Berbatov got there but headed it over from about 5 yards. Let off for City.

41st minute. City were keeping the ball a bit but to no great effect.

42nd minute. After the initial blunder, City have defended quite credibly so far.

43rd minute. SWP ran with the ball a good 50 yards there and is hacked down by Vidic, yellow card. That was tremendous play by the City man.

44th minute. Barry’s take was punched clear by Foster. United found Rooney on the break but City recover.

45th minute. SO CLOSE for City!!! Tevez caps a great move by hitting the post from 10 yards.

46th minute. Toure started that move by taking it off Rooney, then Ireland played a dummy to set up Tevez. Tevez tried to chip it but just couldn’t keep it inside the post.

47th minute. Another chance before the half ends for City as SWP is fouled 35 yards or so from goal in a central position. Bellamy stands over the ball…he fires into the box, and the rebound fell to Lescott’s right foot. His shot is powerful but well over the bar.

There’s the halftime whistle and after the terrible start it’s been quite a good half for City, who should feel very confident at the break. But United will surely have a response that City will need to weather in the second period.

46th minute. United kick off the 2nd half and turn it over in short order to Shay Given. No changes from either side coming out of the break.

47th minute. Berbatov draws a foul there, he went down in between Barry and Lescott though it’s not obvious anyone actually caught him. Rooney will probably take this from 30 yards…

48th minute. Straight into the wall.

49th minute. Goal for United!!! Oh dear. Fletcher puts in Giggs’s cross from the left. No one picked up Fletcher, and he beat Barry to the ball to poke it in.

50th minute. 2-1 United. It looked like Given was slow to react there, he may have been surprised Fletcher got that ball, he was the only United player anywhere near that–it was a floating cross and looked like a City head would get to it.

51st minute. Giggs again crosses dangerously from the left but this time Lescott has a head on it. Park fires over after the clearance.

52nd minute. United rampant at the moment–Given has to save at feet from Giggs who was set up nicely by Rooney. EQUALIZER FOR CITY!!!!

53rd minute. 2-2. BELLAMY with a stunning shot! WOW. This is officially an awesome match. It came from the left side of the box, Bellamy set himself up well and struck it powerfully with his right foot into the far corner. Really a great strike and just what City needed–United seemed to be on the verge of getting a 3rd.

54th minute. And the third almost came for United through Park, who fires hard but a couple of yards wide from the top of the box. He had way too much space there.

55th minute. Robinho looks on from the stands. It will be hard to get Bellamy out of the lineup on current form, he might be thinking.

56th minute. A couple of corners in quick succession for United, the first one was taken short and cleared behind. The second one is dealt with by Lescott. Great run by Giggs but he shanked his cross behind.

57th minute. Bellamy tracked back to win the ball inside City’s own area off Berbatov.

58th minute. That tackle from Bellamy wasn’t as clever, he brought down Anderson and got a yellow card.

59th minute. Giggs that time got a head to a cross from Rooney, but it’s nowhere near the target. The two Welshmen Giggs and Bellamy have take over the game in the second period.

60th minute. Very important tackle from Bridge to put the ball behind as United got it in the box. The corner goes all the way through to Rooney, he crosses it back in and Toure has to put it out.

61th minute. City pinned back just now, fortunately Evra’s cross goes awry and it’s a goal kick. Valencia is now on for Park for United.

63rd minute. More pressure from United. City have a throw, but can’t keep the ball.

64th minute. Tevez continues to be booed. He was magnificent in this game wearing the opposite uniform just a few months ago. And he’s been magnificent so far today too.

65th minute. One City player who’s barely had a touch this half is SWP. Bridge gets a block on Valencia’s cross and it’s another corner. City are looking light in central midfield.

66th minute. Fantastic save by Given!!! Berbatov beat Lescott on the corner and powerfully headed it from 5 yards, but Given’s hands were strong enough to beat it away. Fortunately it was right at him or it surely would have been a goal.

68th minute. There’s SWP getting a boot on it–it’s to clear it out of the box. Lescott clears the next ball out. Another corner for United, Giggs to take. Vidic headed it well, but Ireland cleared it away.

69th minute. ANOTHER great save by Given off Berbatov. He really looked beaten there but Given dove to his left and got his mitts to it. Yet another corner for United. City need to change how this is going and fast.

70th minute. Given saves again! Giggs had an open shot and pounded it right at Given, who parries it behind.

71st minute. It looks like City have shifted to 4 4 2 and it’s just not working, United are getting wherever they want at the moment. That time Berbatov heads behind from a wide angle after yet another cross by Giggs.

72nd minute. City’s players appear to want Ireland to come back into a more central position–he’s been out left the last few minutes and it hasn’t worked. Barry wins a ball in central midfield for City for the first time in ages.

74th minute. Michael Owen is warming up. The commentator is critiquing Mark Hughes, suggesting he’s just not seeing what’s going on.

76th minute. Ireland is still on the left marking Valencia. City now have it. Bridge brings it forward, and City win a foul off O’Shea.

78th minute. Bellamy’s delivery off that free kick didn’t find anyone. Owen comes on for Berbatov, which I think is good news for City–Berbatov was causing major problems in the air.

79th minute. It’s not sure who City could bring on to change this. Evra got down the line there to win another corner.

80th minute. United have had 10 corners, City have not had any this match. By and large City have defended them well. Free kick now for United in a dangerous place after Richards is penalized. Giggs of course to take.

81th minute. And there’s the goal for United–3-2. Fletcher scores again with his head after Giggs’s cross. He did what Berbatov had failed to do, and that is give Given no chance by putting in the far corner.

82nd minute. It seemed almost inevitable after the pressure City were placed under. Richards tries to attack down the right but is whistled for another foul.

83rd minute. Petrov comes in for De Jong. This will expose City even more, but it’s all Hughes can do at this point. Can City at least get a proper chance before this match ends?

85th minute. Ireland whistled for a foul there after he had misplaced a pass.

87th minute. Tevez offside. Bellamy is yelling something at his teammates.

88th minute. Anderson shot left-footed from outside the box there and did not miss by much. SWP hits the post coming the other way! well-saved by Foster.

89th minute. City come so close again, Petrov fired it in hard and Richards couldn’t turn it in from a few yards away.

90th minute. All that started through Ireland’s pass to set up SWP who tried to beat Foster near post and nearly did.

90th minute. EQUALIZER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CRAIG BELLAMY!!!!!!!!!

Ferdinand gave it away to Ireland, Bellamy was played through, he ran it to the edge of the are and poked it past Foster. wow! City need to see this out now.

3-3!

92nd minute. Thank you Rio! Valencia gets across in, Ireland head it but United have it, then get a corner through Fletcher. A sub is coming on now, Carrick for Anderson.

93rd minute. Given punches it away. Rooney recovers and set himself up in a very dangerous position but adrenaline takes over and he fires miles over. 30 seconds to go.

94th minute. City are taking their time now. Important tackle from Lescott on Giggs who made one last run towards the area.

95th minute. Hughes is livid the whistle hasn’t gone as United are given a free kick 45 yards from goal.

And it’s a goal for Michael Owen in the 96th minute! 4-3. Major controversy…

Owen slipped behind SWP. Ferguson is making jokes with 4th official Alan Wiley while Hughes looks like he could seriously hurt someone. Where did the extra two minutes come from?

A great match but from City’s point of view a major injustice. 30 seconds for Bellamy’s goal and 30 seconds for a sub, okay that a 5th extra minute there, but 6 extra minutes?

This will hurt but City have much to be proud of. Next up is Fulham in the League Cup.