REAL BETIS 0 CITY 0
Real Betis won 5-3 on penalties
Costa Del Sol Tournament
8th August 1986
attendance 4,500
Penalty scorers
City Reid, Clements, May
Betis Diego, Garcia, Ortega, Reyes, Rincon
Ref José Francisco Perez Sánchez
City Suckling, Reid, Wilson, Clements, McCarthy, May, Davies, Brightwell, McNab, Christie, Simpson – sub Kinsey(66)
Betis Cervantes, Diego, Hadzibegic, Gail, Ruiz Palacios, Parra, Ortega, Romo, Rincon, Rodríguez, Calderon – subs Garcia(31), Alex(72), Reyes(78)
FROM THE PRESS BOX
PETER GARDNER WRITING IN THE MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS FOOTBALL PINK FINAL 9TH AUGUST 1986
Midnight in Marbella left two Manchester City players enduring a Spanish nightmare.
Neil McNab was sent off for fighting and Mick McCarthy missed a penalty that ended the Blues chances of entering the local record book.
No English side has won the prestigious Costa Del Sol competition with Liverpool and Everton the two outstanding failures from the Football League.
Yet the smart money had been on City to beat Seville-based Real Betis and they certainly deserved to win in the goalless 90 minutes.
The McNab sending off with Argentinian international Robert Calderon came seven minutes from the end when the pair squared up to each other.
Then, McCarthy’s moment of agony arrived in the penalty shoot-out when he missed the second, his shot cannoning back off the crossbar. It left City trailing 2-1 with Real having a penalty in hand.
They scored to lead 3-1 and City finally lost 5-3.
City’s striking newcomer Trevor Christie had an early opportunity rising at the far post to head wide when McNab crossed.
City’s sweeper system, with Andy May this time mopping up at the back, worked effectively.
The Blues were workmanlike with teenager Ian Brightwell looking useful in midfield and there is more thann a touch of class about new goalkeeper Perry Suckling.