Manchester City v Southampton 1989/90

CITY 1 SOUTHAMPTON 2

League Division 1

23rd August 1989

Attendance 25,416

Scorers
City Gleghorn(49)
Southampton D Wallace(37 & 57)

ref Vic Callow

City Dibble, Lake, Hinchcliffe, Bishop, Gayle, Redmond, Oldfield, Allen, Morley, McNab, Gleghorn – Subs White(31), Fleming(86)

Southampton Flowers, Ray Wallace, Adams, Case, Ruddock, Moore, Le Tissier, Cockerill, Rideout, Thorne, D Wallace – Subs Rod Wallace(80)

FROM THE PRESS BOX

STEPHEN BLERLEY WRITING IN THE GUARDIAN 24TH AUGUST 1989
The inflatable bananas may have disappeared but the banana skins in the minds of the Manchester City players remain. Two goals by Danny Wallace did them last night; the second with the score at 1-1 was the product of a ghastly self-inflating, mix-up between Gayle and Lake.
Defeat against Liverpool was expected but a little more was wanted against Southampton, even if the latter are now very much part of the First Division furniture though functional rather than decorative.
Their know-how was immediately apparent with Case potent in midfield. A beautifully struck free kick, one of several, had the city defence severely stretched. The ball was never properly cleared and Danny Wallace drove a shot against the post with Dibble an interested but helpless spectator.
City were getting nowhere fast when Morley gave way to the thrusting White. Almost immediately a chance came Lake’s way, Flowers dropping hurriedly and effectively on his close-range shot. But the pressure was spasmodic rather than concentrated.

Within a few minutes City had been Wallaced. Le Tissier passed to Ray who drifted a ball into the area which brother Danny allowed to bounce nicely. He had an awful lot of time and an awful lot of space and he hit it awfully hard. Dibbles dive was a mere token.
White still looked City’s best hope of recovery and it was his raw pace that won them a corner from which they equalised Gleghorn directing a decisive header from Hinchcliffe’s far post corner. But what the Southampton defence could do, City could do worse.
Lake and Gayle became hopelessly entangled in their defensive duties and instead of clearing or shunting the ball back to Dibble they succeeded only in giving Wallace his second goal.