Liverpool v Manchester City 1969/70

LIVERPOOL 3 CITY 2
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League Division 1
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12th August 1969
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Attendance 51,959
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Scorers
City Smith(47 og), Bowyer(73)
Liverpool St John(3 & 86)), Hunt(83)
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Ref G Kew
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City Corrigan, Book, Pardoe, Doyle, Booth, Oakes, Summerbee, Bell, Lee, Bowyer, Coleman – Sub Bowles(unused)

Liverpool Lawrence, Lawler, Strong, Smith, Yeats, Hughes, Callaghan, Hunt, Graham, St John, Thompson

An own goal from Tommy Smith makes it 1-1
liverpool away 1969 to 70 tommy smith og
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FROM THE PRESS BOX
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Guardian
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Liverpool and Manchester City, who scored four goals apiece on Saturday, had a comparably healthy appetite  last night at Anfield. On this  occasion, however, they settled  for five between them, Liverpool finishing with a great  flourish, and two of their three goals.
It was rough justice for City who, after being behind almost  before they had adjusted themselves to the wet pitch and stuffy atmosphere, fought back splendidly and took the lead. Never  mind. As I have said before, and  no doubt I will have cause to say again, they will win many friends if they continue to play the fast, direct football they played last  night  
Liverpool obviously were surprised by the persistence of the City team. and there were long  periods in which the mighty Smith  himself was in difficulties. No opposition could be paid a higher compliment. Yeats lost many of his  duels with Lee, it was rather like watching the diminutive Pilling stand up to the thunderbolts of  Alan Ward, and Liverpool owed a  great deal to the determination of  Lawler and Strong.  St John, not for the first time was a most. industrious forward, and Graham gave Booth as tough a testing as that promising young man is likely to have all season.  Hunt was in his more recognisable form at least in approach; but  Bill Shankly moved uneasily in his seat when so many of Liverpool’s attacks broke down or were  broken down. Still, in the final analysis, nobody really could complain, about any lack of entertainment.
The Koppites, even if they are not all familiar with the word, like to he punctilious in these matters, and they did not need to be told that Liverpool’s first goal arrived in the one hundred and forty-seventh second. After a  centre by Thompson, Doyle inadvertently headed the ball  straight to Graham and from Graham’s pass St John bear Corrigan with a splendid shot from 12 yards. In the next minute, Booth‘s head, no less inadvertently intercepted another violent shot from St John and City’s centre half was fortunate not to require medical attention.  
The expected goal rush did not  materialise however. Nor was the  threat of one sustained. City’s defenders saw to that, and for an appreciable period Corrigan had only one direct shot by Thompson with which to concern himself.  Yeats and company, on the other hand, did not impress collectively, Yeats twice was fortunate to foil  Lee, and Lawrence had to make a brilliant save from a volley by Lee, And only Bowyer’s inexperience denied him a possible goal after the irrepressible Coleman had  left St John and Yeats tor dead, so to say.  
Lawler’s anticipation, one of his many assets, offset several wicked centres by Summerbee and Coleman,  while Doyle‘s frequent appearances in the Liverpool penalty area embarrassed the defenders more than they interfered with the smooth operations of the attackers.  
Two minutes after the interval. Fortune relented long enough for City to equalise. Bell and Summerbee combined well on the right, and when Summerbee centred. Smith turned the ball quite forcibly past Lawrence at the Kop end, to  add insult to injury.
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liverpool away 1969 to 70 lee goes close
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And the tenants of that stronghold were still muttering when Lee hit the crossbar with one of the best shots of the night.
But City needed no luck when they scored their second in the seventy third minute, Summerbee scorning attempted tackles and personal insults from the exasperated Kop, centred superbly from the dead-ball line. and Bowyer, outleaping Yeats, finished off the movement in the grand manner.
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Roger Hunt equalises
liverpool away 1969 to 70 hunt equaliser
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” No surrender.” howled the Kop. and with seven minutes left Hunt headed a good equaliser after a corner kick by Callaghan. and at the end of another three minutes a combined operation by Lawler, Callaghan and Smith bulldozed a path through the City defenders, and St John applied the finishing touch.
ERIC TODD WRITING IN THE GUARDIAN 13TH AUGUST 1969
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liverpool away 1969 to 70 stjohn winner liverpool away 1969 to 70 lee goes close
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IAN MELLOR PUTS CITY 2-1 UP 
liverpool away 1969 to 70 bowyer goal
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IAN BOWYER’S COMMENTS ON HIS GOAL, FROM THE CITY PROGRAMME 20TH AUGUST 1969
Ian, who comes from Ellesmere Port once had closer associations with Merseyside than with Manchester:
“ln fact I was once an Everton supporter, I watched Liverpool occasionally and it certainly helped to have been on the ground when it was full and get an idea of the atmosphere. “
In his fourth first team game this was the biggest crowd he had played in front of: “l can’t say I noticed it at all. I enjoyed it.”
And the goal?
“l was on the edge of the penalty area. Mike Summerbee took it up to Geoff Strong and went past him. As he hit the cross over I ran
in behind Ron Yeats. It was a great ball. I concentrated on heading it down, and in it went.”
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