CRYSTAL PALACE 0 CITY 2
League Division 1
18th December 1995
Attendance 12,847
Scorer Doyle(36 & 70)
Ref J R Osborne
City Dowd, Kennedy, Sear, Doyle, Heslop, Oakes, Summerbee, Crossan, Pardoe, Young, Connor – Sub Bacuzzi
Crystal Palace Millington, Sewell, Howe, Bannister, Stephenson, Long, Whitehouse, Woods, Burnside, Kevan, Yard.
City were unchanged for a visit to Selhurst Park and would clearly be in a confident mood with the 5-0 demolition of Orient seven days earlier.
Not that Crystal Palace would be a pushover. They were described in one match report, by the late Danny Blanchflower, as “the leading stormtroopers in the business” – and City knew the going would be tough. The Blues showed they were prepared to be physical too, and the game was in danger of becoming unacceptable.
City almost went ahead in the first minute through Mike Summerbee, but he was thwarted by ‘keeper Tony Millington, and in fact, it took until the 36th minute for us to make a breakthrough.
The move was instigated by Glyn Pardoe, who played the ball through the middle for Summerbee to outrun the defenders. “Buzzer” then slipped the ball to his right for Mike Doyle to take in his stride. Millington blocked his first effort but the ball ran kindly and Mike cracked it back into the net.
There were almost shades of the Crosby goal at Forest when Doyle whipped from behind the goalkeeper as Millington threw the ball up prior to kicking it upfield. The referee took a dim view and booked “Doyley”.
However, the same player clinched the game for City after 70 minutes. Johnny Crossan crossed the ball low from the right and Millington failed to hold it under pressure from Doyle, who had the simple job of rolling it home.
ADAPTED FROM AN ARTICLE BY JOHN MADDOCKS IN THE CITY PROGRAMME 23RD DECEMBER 1995