CITY 2 SOUTHEND UNITED 1
Littlewoods Cup 2nd Round 2nd Leg
8th October 1986
attendance 9,373
Scorers
City Simpson(48), McNab(60)
Southend Pennyfather(67)
City Suckling, Redmond, Wilson, Clements, McCarthy, Hopkins, White, McNab, Davies, Moulden, Simpson – subs May(unused), I Brightwell(unused)
Southend Stannard, Roberts, Johnson, Martin, Westley, Hall, Clark, Pennyfather, Cadette, Neal, Gymer
FROM THE PRESS BOX
DOWN TO EARTH BLUES
Doubtful Reward After City’s Anxious Cup Win
Shell-shocked Manchester City survived a Littlewoods Cup minefield, then woke up to find an even more daunting enemy facing them. The dubious reward for an anxious, nail-chewing victory over Fourth Division opponents is a tilt at Arsenal’s big guns in round three. It’s a rapid down-to-earth bump for the Blues in the wake of only their second victory in 24 League and Cup matches.
A shallow victory over Southend at Maine Road last night was hardly the morale booster required for a club in the middle of their biggest transitional period in history. Yet it is a straw at which City must clutch after surviving a desperate final 23 minutes to hang on to a 2-1 lead following a score-less first leg.
Southend gave them a torrid time when Glenn Pennyfather was allowed time and space to halve City’s lead built for them with the season’s first goals from Paul Simpson and Neil McNab.
Said relieved manager Jimmy Frizzell “It was one of those games where the performance was overruled by the result. Yet that doesn’t mean I have to be satisfied with that performance. I wasn’t pleased at all. We were careless and we were slack. The first 20 minutes were good enough, but then we refused to use the width of the pitch by bringing our wingers into the game.
With a side overloaded with so much young talent, it is inevitable there are going to be performances of this frustrating nature.” Said Frizzell: “The kids have got to learn. We have to get them to work to bring their game together and that will take time.”
David White again featured in much of the action but it was not until three minutes into the second half that he finally got in a telling cross.
That was forced in by Simpson and on the hour, the .game’s most subtle and penetrating move showed how easy goal scoring can be.
Clive Wilson advanced from the back, Gordon Davies timed his left flanking cross to perfection and McNab did the rest with a sweetly struck 18 yard shot. ’ That should have been the springboard for City to send confidence soaring. Instead Southend took the game by the scruff of the neck to put their First Division hosts on a rack of despair.
PETER GARDNER WRITING IN THE MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS 9TH OCTOBER 1986