MANCHESTER UNITED 0 CITY 2
Mike Duxbury Testimonial
13th August 1989
attendance ???
scorers Gleghorn, Oldfield
City Dibble, Hinchcliffe, Gayle, Redmond, Oldfield, Lake, Bishop, Allen, Morley, McNab, Gleghorn – used subs Gleghorn, Oldfield
From PAUL LAKE, I’M NOT REALLY HERE, A LIFE OF TWO HALVES by Paul Lake
It may only have been a close-season friendly, but it was still a highly unexpected victory which had given us a welcome shot in the arm. United’s star spangled side, led out by Alex Ferguson, had been well below par that afternoon. Laboured and lethargic, they just couldn’t match our work rate and were nowhere near their usual competitive selves.
United’s cause wasn’t helped by the fact that three or four of their players seemed to be nursing monumental hangovers, their every move accompaned by a potent whiff of stale beer.
Not that our opponents’ meekness took the sheen off the final outcome, though, because we were chuffed to bits to get one over on United at Old Trafford. Our coaches, Skip and Glyn, themselves derby veterans, had always told us that any fixture against ‘them across the road’ mattered whether it was a youth team game or a friendly match. And this one really mattered.
In hindsight, it helped to rekindle a certain derby-winning mentality, which was nice, considering that the first team hadn’t won one since 1981.
It may only have been a close-season friendly, but it was still a highly unexpected victory which had given us a welcome shot in the arm. United’s star spangled side, led out by Alex Ferguson, had been well below par that afternoon. Laboured and lethargic, they just couldn’t match our work rate and were nowhere near their usual competitive selves.
United’s cause wasn’t helped by the fact that three or four of their players seemed to be nursing monumental hangovers, their every move accompaned by a potent whiff of stale beer.
Not that our opponents’ meekness took the sheen off the final outcome, though, because we were chuffed to bits to get one over on United at Old Trafford. Our coaches, Skip and Glyn, themselves derby veterans, had always told us that any fixture against ‘them across the road’ mattered whether it was a youth team game or a friendly match. And this one really mattered.
In hindsight, it helped to rekindle a certain derby-winning mentality, which was nice, considering that the first team hadn’t won one since 1981.