CITY 0 CHELSEA 1
League Division 1
27th March 1973
attendance 23,973
scorer Osgood(54)
Ref Keith Styles
City Corrigan, Book, Donachie, Doyle, Booth, Jeffries, Summerbee, Carrodus, Marsh, Whelan, Towers – sub Oakes
Chelsea Bonetti, Hollins, McCreadie, Kember, Hinton, Harris, Garland, Hudson, Osgood, Garner, Britton
City’s lowest crowd of the season saw them lose their fourth game on the trot in this dour, depressing game at Maine Road.
Mike Doyle and Tony Towers seemed to be the only players believing this game would not end up as a ninth game for the Blue’s without a win.
Referee Keith Styles was at the heart of most of the main, but few moments of interest. Chelsea’s goal began with a free kick for a foul on Britton, with City’s players convinced that the Chelsea player had dived.
Peter Osgood subsequently headed past Joe Corrigan, with the Blues convinced the ball didn’t cross the line, however Styles gave the goal.
Then, despite Mike Summerbee clearly being chopped down in the box by McCreadie, Styles was convinced by his linesman that it was just obstruction and therefore an indirect free kick, which amounted to nothing.