LIVERPOOL 0 CITY 0
League Division 1
12th January 1971
Attendance 45,985
Ref Jack Taylor
City Corrigan, Book, Mann, Doyle, Booth, Oakes, Carrodus, Bell, Summerbee, Hill, Jeffries – used sub Connor
Liverpool Clemence, Lawlor, Whitam, Smith, Lloyd, Hughes, Callaghan, McLaughlin, Heighway, Toshack, Hall
FROM THE PRESS BOX
DAVE HORRIDGE WRITING IN THE DAILY MIRROR 13TH JANUARY 1971
The injury blows that Liverpool have so effectively disguised this season are beginning to show through.
The attack that manager Bill Shankly has had to shuffle so often because of a staggering injury list are finding goals hard to come by.
Manchester City might even sympathise for they too, know the effect of being without star forwards.
And minus Francis Lee and Neil Young last night they looked even less likely than Liverpool to upset an early impression that the game would end as it did, goalless.
In four successive home matches Liverpool have scored only three goals. One was against Fourth Division Aldershot in the FA Cup.
Last night Mr Shankly paired £111,000 John Toshack with £65,000 Jack Whitham for the first time but without receiving much encouragement that they would provide an answer.
Yet not all the blame is theirs, Whitham was Liverpool’s best forward but, like the others, he is suffering from a lack of drive in midfield.
This was the department where for a time in the first half City promised to take control.
After withstanding an opening spell in which Whitham, Toshack and Brian Hall were within inches of scoring City hit back.
Colin Bell stamped his class on the game, called on, and received, remarkable support from young Frank Carrodus and the game fleetingly looked like taking its place in a memorable series between these teams.
But like most things in the match, it was a treacherous promise.
Freddie Hill forced Ray Clemence to a superb save with a perfectly struck low drive from 25 yards.
Joe Corrigan bettered that save in the second half when he pushed out a vicious volley by Chris Lawler from about 16 yards.
But those were the only memorable moments for the two young goalkeepers.
Liverpool as ever, kept the crowd buzzing to the end with a final desperate assault, which might have produced a winner for Steve Heighway.
After beating three men, however, he shot over from an acute angle.
Whitham whilst falling, hooked a Toshack header inches wide. Bell was just as near with an 86th minute header that dropped on the roof of the net.
By then we all knew the ball just wasn’t going in.