CITY 1 IPSWICH TOWN 1
League Division 1
2nd December 1972
attendance 27,839
scorers
City Lee(15)
Ipswich Johnson(61)
Ref Roger Kirkpatrick
City Corrigan, Book, Donachie, Doyle, Barrett, Jeffries, Carrodus, Bell, Marsh, Lee, Towers – sub Hill(30)
Ipswich Best, Mills, Harper, Morris, Hunter, Beattie, Hamilton, Viljoen, Johnson, Whymark, Lambert – sub Woods(unused)
FRANCIS LEE GRABS CITY’S GOAL
FROM THE PRESS BOX
PETER GARDNER WRITING IN THE MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS FOOTBALL PINK FINAL 2ND DECEMBER 1972
Francis Lee hit in a glorious 15th minute free kick to give Manchester City the lead against Ipswich Town, the most improved side in the First Division, at Maine Road this afternoon.
Lee, for whom little would goo right in a rugged opening half, won the free kick himself when he was fouled by Alan Hunter two yards outside the penalty area.
But City were handicapped when an injury after 12 minutes left Frank Carrodus limping painfully and the man who had replaced injured Mike Summerbee finally went off after half an hour and was replaced by Freddie Hill.
However the Blues, with Derek Jeffries and Colin Barrett once more outstanding in defence, battled magnificently against a side unbeaten in their last seven matches.
Doyle picked off Bell with a fine cross-field ball but the City skipper drove it straight at Hunter as the Blues made a brisk start before a crowd building up toward the 30,000 mark.
Hunter again came to the rescue of Ipswich, heading away a Book free kick and when the East Anglian side retaliated, Mills pushed the ball down the flank but Donachie brought Corrigan into the game with a safety first back pass.
Lee brought the ball in from the right but this time Hamilton intercepted the cross.
Johnson, from a midfield position, once more tried to build up for Town, but Carrodus came across to clear sharply.
Then Carrodus sprinted forward to take a neat pass from Towers, which Bell intelligently left. But as the City winger squared up for a shot, the watchful Hunter was sharper to the tackle, clearing at the expense of a corner.
From a quickly taken throw-in, midway inside the City half, Lambert accelerated inside and let loose a flying shot that fairly sizzled across the face of the City goal and out of play by the far post.
Jeffries and Barrett, City’s young defensive stalwarts, were quickly into their stride, curbing the Ipswich attack as the game rapidly developed into a keen technical battle.
With Carrodus limping out of the game on the far side, following a clash with Harper, Towers created the best chance of the match. His superb through ball found Bell but a shot on the run saw the ball fly over the bar.
Carrodus came back just in time to see City take the lead with a glorious goal from Lee.
Lee was fouled by Hunter two yards outside the Ipswich penalty area. Bell shaped up to take the kick, but then stood back as Lee thundered forward to hit a superb rising shot over the heads of the astonished Ipswich defence giving Best no chance whatsoever.
It was a great 15th minute spur for Lee, who had seen little go right for him in a frustrating opening quarter of an hour.
Ipswich quickly hit back, with Lambert crossing to the near post. The ball rebounded to Hamilton off Towers and the Ipswich right winger hammered in a point blank range shot but Corrigan smothered the ball magnificently at the foot of the post.
Book too, did well in getting the ball away after an erratic pass by Bell had again given the initiative to the forceful Ipswich side.
Corrigan was again forced to go down, this time to block a shot from Johnson. The City goalkeeper took two attempts to clear but fortunately no Ipswich forward was near enough to prove of real danger.
Carrodus, who had been off for a short treatment stint, returned as Doyle shot over the bar with City still looking the more dangerous side.
In the 27th minute Viljoen was cautioned following a foul on Marsh, then the City forward himself was given a lecture by referee Kirkpatrick after he had clashed with Best when going for the free kick.
Finally in the 30th minute Carrodus was forced to limp off, to be replaced by Hill.
Marsh, hustled by Mills and Hamilton, won a free kick in the left hand corner. His cross to the far post was headed behind by Hunter, and then Hill, with his own kick, floated over a perfect corner from which Bell headed narrowly over.
Some glorious footwork by Hill set up City once more and a fine move ended with Towers hitting a crisp shot that Best took well.
Half-time: Manchester City 1 Ipswich Town 0
Doyle aimed a free kick towards the near post and Lee just missed connecting as Harper and Best went for the ball together.
Jeffries did well to pinch the ball off the toes of Johnson at the expense of a corner, but City were soon moving forward again, with Lee twice threatening Ipswich.
First he won a corner following a neat link involving Jeffries and Hill and then he shot over from a right wing corner.
Doyle, struggling for consistency, was sloppy with a back pass that provided Hamilton with an opening but Donachie came to City’s rescue.
Two keen defences were reducing the chances to a minimum, although Marsh did have Ipswich stretched with a fine ball to Towers. Towers moved swiftly forward but his only reward for a fine run was a corner which was quickly cleared.
Then in their next raid Ipswich, too, created space, and this time they took full advantage of the situation to catch City off their guard and equalise.
Viljoen did the damage, pushing the ball inside to Johnson, who drove in a low shot under the body of the diving Corrigan.
That success in stretching City spurred Ipswich to greater efforts and Lambert drove in a forceful right foot shot that once more sent Corrigan diving full length to save.
A neat clearance from Jeffries gave City the opportunity to attack down the left and Bell and Marsh linked up forcefully to win a corner but again rugged Ipswich stood up to the test well.
Donachie next moved forward in support of Bell with Marsh and Hill also joining in the raid which ended when Book, coming through strongly on overlap on the right, shot into the side netting.
Ipswich, now looking the more commanding side, had a chance to take the lead seven minutes from the end. Whymark created more space for Johnson but this time the Ipswich leader drove the ball at Corrigan and the ball bounced behind for a corner off the goalkeeper’s legs.