LEICESTER CITY 1 CITY 0
League Division 1
6th April 1968
Attendance 24,925
Scorer Stringfellow(46)
Ref H New
City Mulhearn, Book, Pardoe, Doyle, Heslop, Oakes, Lee, Connor, Summerbee, Coleman, Young – sub Kennedy(unused)
Leicester Shilton, Rodrigues, Bell, Roberts, Cross, Sjoberg, Tewley, Nish, Large, Stringfellow, Gibson
FROM THE PRESS BOX
MANCHESTER CITY’S FLAIR IS MISSING
Manchester City have played such exhilarating football this season that they can be forgiven the odd occasions when their flair deserts them and the rhythm is missing. But the lrony remains that, having beaten Leicester City 4-0 in the League Cup, and 6-0 in the First Division, at Maine Road, their hopes of winning the FA Cup and, possibly, thelr chance of taking the championship should each have come to an end at Filbert Street.
Leicester won well on Saturday, a surprisingly solid performance considering the manner in which Everton had out-thought. and out-paced them in the Cup the previous week. Their midfield football was much tidier, mainly because Glbson was bringing the ball inside more and feeding it through and because Stringfellow,_a skilled ball player considering his height and gait was used as much in a creative role as a striker. Twice late in the second half Strinigfellow caught. the Manchester defenders moving up too late for off side wlth shrewd lobs forward; the first time time Large was so surprised to find himself legally clear that he hesitated and lost the chance of‘ an easy goal, the second Gibson seized avidly but Mulhearn was equal to the shot.
yet in many ways it was an unsatisfactory game: no Bell for Manchester City, a crowd some 18,000 less than had watched the cup-tie seven days before, a lumpy pitch, a stiff breeze and a capricious ball which consistently won the race into touch. Manchester at their best would have made light of the situation, but Summerbee, taut and white-faced throughout, was given no more room by Sjoberg than he had been given by the Spanish defence at Wembley on Wednesday and Connor and Young struggled along unhappily in the middle second best on the day to Nish, Glbson, Roberts and Cross.
Seldom this season can the Manchester side have produced so few shots at goal. Their better football came consistently from Lee and less often from Coleman, who together gave them the power on the wings that their middle lacked. Eventually Lee moved into the middle, but for all his tight control and his pursuit of seemingly hopeless passes he could do little on his own to upset the command Leicester enjoyed in their own half.
Lee’s best effort came off the stroke of half time when he flicked the ball over Bell‘s head on the right wing, ran round his opponent and fired in a low shot towards the far post. Coleman had read the situation quickly enough and dashed in but was just too late getting a foot to the ball. Within 30 seconds of the second half starting Leicester had scored. They kicked off. the ball was played back to Roberts, forward to Stringfellow, out to Nish on the left and back to Stringfellow who lunged prodigiously and toe-ended it past Mulhearn.
DAVID LACEY WRITING IN THE GUARDIAN 8TH APRIL 1968