CITY 2 BLACKPOOL 0
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League Division 1
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26th August 1970
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Attendance 37,598
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scorers Lee(20), Bell(33)
Ref Maurice Fussey
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City Corrigan, Book, Pardoe, Doyle Booth, Oakes, Summerbee, Bell, Lee, Young, Towers – Sub Hill(unused)
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Blackpool Thomson, Armfield, Mowbray, Bentley, James, Hatton, Brown, Craven, Pickering, Suddick, Hutchison – Sub Hughes(77)
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Mike Summerbee sets up Francis Lee who bags the opener
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City should have won this game by five or six goals at least, if it wasn’t for the man of the match performance from Blackpool custodian Harry Thomson, coupled with a recent trait of The Blues taking the foot off the gas in the second half. Peter Gardner summed it up in the Manchester Evening News: “There was a touch of the Concorde about Manchester City’s latest performance. They were all glitter and go,but that supersonic finish has still to be revealed.”
The Citizens started off at a pace and on the quarter hour they were awarded a penalty for a controversial hand ball given by referee Mr Fussey, no-one in the ground could have been sure who’s hand it hit in a congested goalmouth. Maybe justice was done when Thomson brilliantly saved the spot kick from the normally reliable Francis Lee.
Five minutes later however the keeper had no chance of keeping out Lee’s shot, after a Summerbee had fed him with a fine pass on the edge of the 6 yard box.
Just after the half hour and it was 2-0. A fine goal indeed. Mike Doyle went on a mazey 60 yard dribble from his own half,passed to Young who left the ball (by accident or design) to run to Colin Bell, who crashed the ball passed Thomson into the roof of the net.
City kept up the siege on the Tangerines’ and before the break Pardoe, Bell, Oakes and Booth could have all scored if it wasn’t for great saves from Thomson.
Blackpool’s only real chance to score came through Fred Pickering, but his effort was well saved by Joe Corrigan.
As said City seemed to be walking through the second half without the effort shown in the first half and the game turned into a damp squib, indeed Eric Todd in the Guardian sarcastically reported on it as: “And so to the second half which lasted 45 minutes as ordained by the regulations.” Just about summed it up.
The Citizens started off at a pace and on the quarter hour they were awarded a penalty for a controversial hand ball given by referee Mr Fussey, no-one in the ground could have been sure who’s hand it hit in a congested goalmouth. Maybe justice was done when Thomson brilliantly saved the spot kick from the normally reliable Francis Lee.
Five minutes later however the keeper had no chance of keeping out Lee’s shot, after a Summerbee had fed him with a fine pass on the edge of the 6 yard box.
Just after the half hour and it was 2-0. A fine goal indeed. Mike Doyle went on a mazey 60 yard dribble from his own half,passed to Young who left the ball (by accident or design) to run to Colin Bell, who crashed the ball passed Thomson into the roof of the net.
City kept up the siege on the Tangerines’ and before the break Pardoe, Bell, Oakes and Booth could have all scored if it wasn’t for great saves from Thomson.
Blackpool’s only real chance to score came through Fred Pickering, but his effort was well saved by Joe Corrigan.
As said City seemed to be walking through the second half without the effort shown in the first half and the game turned into a damp squib, indeed Eric Todd in the Guardian sarcastically reported on it as: “And so to the second half which lasted 45 minutes as ordained by the regulations.” Just about summed it up.
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Colin Bell scores City’s second goal
Went to this with my Dad and brother (I was 7 and my brother 6) Dad went through the adult turnstile but the kiddies turnstile closed so we were stuck outside. We told a policeman and he decided that the only way to get us in was for us to stand on his shoulders and clamber onto the roof of the turnstile building and then we lowered ourselves down onto Dad. Me and my brother enjoyed leaving cos we used to get lifted off our feet by the crush of the crowd at the exit gates.