Manchester City v West Ham United 1972/73

CITY 4 WEST HAM UNITED 3

League Division 1

21st October 1972

Attendance 30,890

scorers
City Towers(5), Marsh(25 & 34), Summerbee(35)
West Ham Best(17), Ayris(43), Moore(69)

Ref K Burns

City Healey, Book, Donachie, Doyle, Booth,  Jeffries, Summerbee, Bell, Marsh, Lee, Towers – sub Carrodus(Unused)

West Ham Grotier, McDowall, Lampard, Bonds, Taylor, Moore, Ayris, Best, Holland, Brooking, Robson – sub Lock

TONY TOWERS SCORES CITY’S FIRST GOAL, RODNEY MARSH NODS IN THE SECOND AND MIKE SUMMERBEE SCORES THE FOURTH

Two of the entertainers of the football league met at Maine Road, and the game certainly didn’t disappoint, West Ham’s classy passing style against the skill of City’s Rodney Marsh and the complete midfielder, Colin Bell. Indeed Derek Potter writing in The Daily Express said the game “produced the kind of swashbuckling Soccer that can save the game in Britain”.
It took just five minutes for City to take the lead, as Tony Towers intelligently lobbed the Hammers keeper. West Ham struck back however, and Clyde Best scored past Healey who was deputising for the injured Corrigan.

Incredibly there were still four goals to come before the break, Rodney Marsh scored with a header, then a shot to put the Blues 3-1 up, and then Mike Summerbee made it 4-1, before Ayris pulled one back for West Ham just before the interval.
Buoyed by the goal just before half-time The Hammers came out for the second half with all guns blazing, and City were under pressure for the rest of the game. Bobby Moore made it 4-3 with a good header, but City managed to hang on to take all the points in a game which was definitely a game of two halves, indeed Malcolm Allison said after the game “We were so dominant in the first 45 minutes, and I just couldn’t believe that our form could dip so sharply. We really must maintain our form over 90 minutes and not allow teams to pick themselves up when thet are there for the taking”.