CITY 1 STOKE CITY 1
League Division 1
26th December 1972
attendance 36,334
scorers
City Mellor(18)
Stoke Mahoney(43)
Ref V Batty
City Corrigan, Jeffries, Pardoe, Doyle, Booth, Barrett, Summerbee, Hill, Marsh, Mellor, Towers – sub Brennan(unused)
Stoke Farmer, Marsh, Pejic, Mahoney, Smith, Jump, Conroy, Greenhoff, Ritchie, Hurst, Eastham – sub Robertson
IT’S A GOAL FOR IAN MELLOR
FROM THE PRESS BOX
ANOTHER BLACK MARK, BLUES
PETER GARDNER WRITING IN THE MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS 27TH DECEMBER 1972
Manchester City again, amazingly surrendered a point in a game where their superiority was absolute from every aspect except the most vital one of all.
They failed to turn their overwhelming authority into goals against a Stoke side who had only three shots to offer in a one-sided, full-scale FA Cup rehearsal.
The outcome was another disappointing Maine Road draw that left the Blues with only one victory in the last six fixtures.
City, too, earned one more black mark on their bleak disciplinary record with a Rodney Marsh booking, his second this season, plus a verbal lashing from Stoke manager Tony Waddington in which he particularly singled out Mike Summerbee for the lunging tackle on Denis Smith.
Up to this point the match had been almost a repeat of City’s magnificent performance at Newcastle on Saturday where they played their best football of the season.
And again, it was Ian Mellor who stood head and shoulders above his team mates as a most devastating forward, scoring in a similar manner to his effort on Tyneside three days earlier.
Unafraid to take on and beat opponents, Mellor increasingly looked like Neil Young in his prime, particularly when he turned with the ball.
Rodney Marsh also had a fine match, and Summerbee worked hard against Mike Pejic, a speedy full back who often matched the City wing man stride for stride.
There was a much more productive effort from Tony Towers and Tommy Booth was also solid. Derek Jeffries, temporarily switched from the middle of the back four, thoroughly enjoyed himself as deputy right back.
A little more urgency up front might have benefited City who undoubtedly missed the the prodigious running of skipper Colin Bell has recently been putting into his game.
However, the sour note on which the game ended with Stoke players Smith and John Mahoney also cautioned seemed certain to leave a nasty taste in their mouth for the third round Cup tie on January 13.
I hope for everyone’s sake that the match does not degenerate as much as yesterday’s did.