Manchester Derby Live Blog! (United 1, City 0)

By: Thad | April 16th, 2010

A late winner from Paul Scholes has given United a 1-0 victory in the Manchester derby–read on for the minute-by-minute report…..

Alright, we’re back live and the teams are walking out on to the pitch. Kolo Toure and Gary Neville lead out their respective teams in blue and red. It’s a beautiful day at the City of Manchester Stadium as confetti pours down. Handshakes all around.

City look to be going with the same lineup that battered Birmingham, save for Bridge coming in for Garrido. Given, Onuoha, Kompany, Toure, Bridge, Bellamy, Barry, DeJong, Johnson, Adebayor, Tevez.

United have Evra, Evans, Vidic, Neville, Gibson, Fletcher, Scholes, Giggs, Valencia, Rooney, and Van der Sar.

“Blue Moon” rings around the ground, Moonchester looks fired up, and the formalities are just about cleared away. Time to kick it off! Come on City!

1st minute. City kick it off. Wow that pitch looks gorgeous. As Fergie pointed out in pre-match comments, this won’t be like Ewood Park last week for United. Good early ball through looking for Tevea but he can’t get there, Rooney controls a long ball well but Bridge gets it away. Frantic early pace!

3rd minute. United have a bit of attacking possession, Neville’s cross is eventually cleared. Johnson tries to take it out down the right but can’t control it. Capello of course is here and won’t be too impressed by that. Meanwhile United get a corner…

4th minute. City can’t get any sustained possession. Fletcher takes a good shot from about 22 yards that flashes wide by about a yard.

5th minute. Now City have it a bit. Good ball finds DeJong who nods it over to Johnson. His cross from the right on his left foot can’t find anyone however.

6th minute. Barry tries a very long ball for Tevez but it doesn’t work this time. Foul on Fletcher in the center circle.

7th minute. Adebayor got his first touch of the day in that move, but the through ball looking for Tevez’s run is cut out. City keep it for a spell. Great ball for Bellamy on the left, and now Tevez is fouled 30 yards from goal!

8th minute. Free kick for City…

9th minute. Gibson harrassed Tevez a little too closely and eventually the Argentine went down. Tevez takes it well but it’s a good save–an excellent save–by Van der Sar, who makes the catch before the ball can sail in the top corner.

10th minute. City are starting to impose its will, Bellamy missed his kick there and wanted a foul, instead the ball trickles away for a goal kick to United.

11th minute. Johnson coughs it up there to Evra, but City tackle well to get it again. The ball rolls to Adebayor on the left who gets a throw in the attacking third.

13th minute. That move ended up being cleared by Evra, United come the other way and Scholes gets a chance to fire from about 25 yards–wide left. He’s scored plenty of those before, slight let-off for City though Given looked to have that one covered.

14th minute. Bridge tried to attack Valencia but he loses the ball. A mis-kick by Kompany sets up Rooney for a chance but Toure covers the play and United have to settle for a corner.

15th minute. Giggs has been invisible till now but he takes that corner. City clear, Tevez tried to find Bellamy with a long ball but it’s cleared out of bounds.

16th minute. DeJong was caught by Rooney there. Looked like a yellow but it’s just a foul.

17th minute. City play on from the restart but knock it over the end line for a goal kick.

19th minute. Quick throw from Tevez gets it forward to Johnson. City get another throw in an attacking area, Adebayor got in the box back to goal but his juggling move doesn’t work.

20th minute. Good ball from Johnson so nearly finds Adebayor behind Vidic! But the keeper manages to get to it first.

21st minute. Evra fouls Nedum O there. 20 minutes of high pressure from both sides have passed, to no great effect so far.

22nd minute. In other words, it’s an even match so far. Adebayor now has a chance to run. He finds Bellamy in the box and City get a corner off that play…

23rd minute. Good corner from Johnson but Vidic got it away, City kept the ball and Johnson tried to attack via the dribble in the box on the left, but eventually loses it over the end line.

24th minute. Bridge cuts out that pass, he looks just fine on his return. Garrido’s error to allow Birmingham to score last week probably sealed that selection question for Mancini.

25th minute. Free kick given to United, Barry caught Gibson.

26th minute. Tempers flare on both sides. Giggs took that free kick well, he put it on goal and Given had to catch at feet to prevent any rebounds.

27th minute. Long ball from Scholes to Giggs is too heavy and it’s a goal kick for City.

28th minute. Best chance yet for City as Bellamy beat Neville and was able to knock one across the face of goal, but no one was there to knock it in. Bellamy running at Neville is a good sight for City fans…

29th minute. United keep it for a bit on the carpet.

30th minute. Toure eventually got a foot in but City can’t recover the clearance. United finally cough it up after well ove a minute of possession.

31st minute. Bridge throws it in on the left but Adebayor loses it. Good tackle by Kompany and the ball comes round to Johnson. Evra tackles it and gets the throw too deep in United’s half.

33rd minute. Barry is well set up to shoot there but it’s blocked. Toure got up there in the box and tried to cross but it was cut out. Adebayor doesn’t get back onside before that long ball comes in.

34th minute. But Rooney is offside on the other end straightaway. Here comes Bridge on the left but his cross is deflected and the keeper gets it.

35th minute. DeJong applies pressure on United deep in their own half but it comes off him for a goal kick.

36th minute. United have certainly been able to cope with City’s 4 attack-minded players, but on the other hand City have not been over-run in midfield in either. Tactical stalemate so far. Adebayor gets treatment after taking a knock.

37th minute. Mancini uses the timeout to speak with Johnson. He is making sharp gestures with his hands–maybe asking Johnson to be more direct? We’ll see soon enough as play resumes.

38th minute. Bellamy did well to get onto that ball over the top from Barry, he one-timed a cross in but it balloons harmlessly.

40th minute. Bellamy takes this corner on the right, Tevez had won a corner off Vidic. The corner is cleared. But City come again, a hard cross from Johnson finds Evans’s head. City keep the ball and work it around for a spell on the floor.

41st minute. Bellamy is called offside to stop that promising move. Good call that time.

42nd minute. Oh dear!! Lucky layoff for City as Rooney misses from hardly more than 12 yards on his left foot! In an instant the ball fell to him in a great position, but he fired it wide when the entire crowd would have expected it to hit the net.

43rd minute. City have played well enough but that was a warning of how quickly this could turn. Kompany with a good interception there and City break. Adebayor with some remarkable skill over on the right, bringing that long ball down, and he’s fouled by Vidic.

44th minute. Johnson will take this from the right but it’s not a good one. But City recover it from Fletcher. Tevez moves it from right to left.

45th minute. United get it back and find Valencia who sets up Giggs–another huge chance for United as Giggs was open but he tried to get too cute with the finish and put it straight into Given’s hands from about 6 yards.

46th minute. Good defensive work from Adebayor prevents Rooney from shooting. United have been putting on pressure late in this half but it looks like this is going to be goalless at the break. And so it is…

United whine a bit that Atkinson blew the whistle there before City had fully cleared the ball. A first half stalemate, and few will have much clue about how the second half will unfold. United can’t settle for this however so the second half could be a very open affair…We’ll be back in 15.

46th minute. Here’s the second half kickoff. United had 57% possession in first half and a few more shots on goal, but only two real goal-scoring chances–neither of which were finished, fortunately. City get an early throw in but can’t keep the ball for long.

47th minute. City have it now, Tevez and Adebayor try a 1-2 but the keeper goes down to pick it up at Tevez’s feet. Not a bad play. Giggs crosses the other way and Toure gets an important head to it.

48th minute. Here comes Johnson he wiggles past Evra for a moment but the cross doesn’t have enough heighth to beat the defenders. City keep the ball though. Decent start for the home side.

49th minute. Tevez wins a corner. Have City made subtle tactical adjustments at halftime? Or is it a matter of sticking with it until United wear down? In any case nothing came of that corner–Barry got a foot to it but it goes harmlessly behind for a goal kick.

50th minute. Good work by Fletcher prevents that from being a corner and United in fact clear it away. But City have it back briefly, before Adebayor is called for a niggling foul on Fletcher.

51st minute. Evans climbs all over Adebayor’s back that time and City win the foul. Play continues and eventually it’s a goal kick for United.

53rd minute. Dangerous situation in the box there but City get it away. Bellamy however clips Neville just outside the box on the right and it’s a dangerous free kick opportunity for United. Nervous time…

54th minute. City did not defend these situations well in the League Cup. Giggs fires it in but DeJong hoofs it away. City’s attempts to counter-attack are thwarted….and now there’s a yellow card for Kompany who got Rooney with his left foot for an obvious foul.

55th minute. Bit of a wasted yellow card for a centre half there, that was totally unnecessary from Kompany. Goal kick to City.

56th minute. Adebayor wins a corner after being put through by Tevez in a neat piece of play. Neville covered well there to block the cross.

57th minute. City try it short this time and Bellamy gets a decent cross in but it’s cleared away. Johnson and Valencia get tangled on the break and it’s a yellow card for Johnson who impeded the break there.

58th minute. Good break for City, best of the day, Tevez runs through the middle and finds Bellamy on the left who makes the wrong decision in trying to shoot. It goes well wide.

59th minute. United win a corner through Giggs. Nani is about to come on for Gibson. When Fergie made the equivalent move back in September City couldn’t cope with two United widemen–will it be a different story today?

60th minute. Pressure from United but Kompany finally gets a big boot to the ball to clear it away.

61st minute. Toure blocks that cross and it ricochets behind for a goal kick. Neville fouls Adebayor and City have a free kick in their own half.

62nd minute. Good work by DeJong there but he only succeeds in knocking it to United. The visitors soon win another corner. Giggs takes…

63rd minute. Good head from Adebayor there, he’s been quite useful in defensive positions today. It comes back in and Giggs had a chance to volley with very little pressure but it wasn’t one of his better strikes.

64th minute. Vieira as I suspected is going to come on…but for whom? And will he be able to cope with the pace of this match? Mancini is rolling the dice on a favored player.

65th minute. Here come City, Barry plays for a corner and gets it. Johnson is coming off in a slightly puzzling move as Vieira comes on. Mancini plumps for experience. Will the formation change to a 4-3-3?

66th minute. Shirt tug by Neville is called and City now have a free kick in a great place, outside the box on the left. Good ball by Bellamy but United get it away, and the follow-up cross is blocked by Valencia.

67th minute. Adebayor’s cross is deflected Evra let it go out but it’s a corner since Evans deflected it.

68th minute. Nedum got a head to that corner from Barry but there’s no power or direction, goal kick.

69th minute. Toure tries one of those mazy runs but it came to nothing. Barry finds Adebayor going down the middle. City keep it but can’t get any attacking impetus.

70th minute. A foul is called on Nedum there–looked like a decent challenge on Valencia. Evra got a shot off but it trickles harmlessly wide.

71st minute. I’d like to see SWP get a run-out before this over. hard to see where a goal is coming from for City now.

72nd minute. Nani got on to the low cross from Giggs but he pokes it well wide.

73rd minute. Berbatov about to come on. Tevez maybe ould have shot from distance but elected to dribble into the box but his path is blocked.

74th minute. Barry goes down in the box but there’s no foul, and then Giggs has a chance the other end that Given saves. Maybe some slight contact on the Barry play.

75th minute. Here is SWP, and he’s on for Adebayor. City now have a conventional 4-3-3/4-5-1.

76th minute. Vieira lays it off nicely for DeJong to shoot but there’s not nearly enough power on it to trouble the keeper. SWP comes on and beats Evra twice, the second time it’s a foul and a card for Evra.

77th minute. “Shauny-Wright Wright!” is the cry as Barry takes the free kick, but it can’t find anyone.

78th minute. Hello, here’s an attack-minded move. Ireland will bring his bald head onto the pitch–for DeJong? Some uncomfortable head tennis in City’s box but finally it’s a goal kick. Yes, DeJong is coming off.

79th minute. That’s not a negative move from Mancini–Ireland is much more likely to finish off a situation like the one DeJong had a couple of minutes ago. Obertan will come on for United shortly.

80th minute. Neither side really have deserved to win this–ten minutes to go though and literally anything could happen

81st minute. Foul inside United’s half but nothing comes of the ensuing possession.

82nd minute. Berbatov had a chance to head from the penalty spot and he did not miss by much–a half yard wide, and it’s uncertain whether Given had it covered.

83rd minute. Offside against Berbatov. The City crowd seem to be trying to rev things up for one last push for a win–”come on City” is the chant.

84th minute. If I’m not mistaken there has yet to be a draw in this fixture since City moved to Eastlands.

85th minute. Wright-Phillips with more good play, he wins a foul from Obertan just outside the box. Tevez will take…
Wow, it looked like Vieira or Nedum would be able to put that looping delivery away but Vidic nodded away.

86th minute. Crazy goal mouth scramble but it doesn’t go in! Van der Sar came from the ball and didn’t get it, Vieira, Nedum and Tevez all had touches on it but United had three or four players on the goal line who kept it from going in.

87th minute. More attacking play on the left, Bridge had a great chance to cross in yards of space but adrenaline took over and he hit it too long.

88th minute. Crowd is roaring now as the home time has been dialing up the pressure.

89th minute. United break and Giggs can’t quite get his head on to that cross. Given does well to punch that one away after the corner.

90th minute. Both sides are going for it. SWP cuts in from the left and fires from distance but it bends away and well, well, wide. Stats show it’s 12-7 United in total shots, but 4-2 City in shots on goal.

91st minute. Three minutes to play. United have possession. SWP heads it over the touchline, then boots it away after the throw.

92nd minute. Evans is now all the way forward but he couldn’t get that long ball. City now have it and Bridge fires a rasping shot in but it’s right at the keeper. City have it again. Vieira, Tevez, SWP, but he loses it and United try to break.

93rd minute. Final minute, Vieira and Bellamy with important tackles. Bellamy tried to find SWP but it’s cut out… and United have scored!

Another late horror show as United win it through Paul Scholes. Onuoha got pulled too tightly allowing Nani to cross, and Scholes put his header in the corner just past Given. City gave a great effort but allowed themselves again to get pulled too wide in the dying minutes of stoppage time.

Great win for United, horribly familiar script for City. City will need to hope Chelsea knock off Spurs later today to keep 4th place.