CITY 1 STOKE CITY 1
League Division 1
26th December 1979
attendance 36,286
scorers
City Power(16)
Stoke Dodd(4)
ref A Challinor
City Corrigan, Ranson, Donachie, Caton, Bennett, Booth, Power, Daley, Henry, Robinson, Shinton – sub Reid(unused)
Stoke Fox, Evans, Johnson, Doyle, Smith, Dodd, Heath, Irvine, O’Callaghan, Crooks, Randall – sub Ursem
KAZIU DEYNA’S CELEBRATIONS ARE CUT SHORT A HIS EFFORT IS ADJUDGED OFFSIDE
FROM THE PRESS BOX
FOX GLOVES BURST INTO BLOOM
PATRICK BARCLAY WRITING IN THE GUARDIAN 27TH DECEMBER 1979
Peter Fox, until recently third choice among Stoke City’s goalkeepers earned his side a point at Maine Road yesterday with a save on which the great practitioners of the art, Banks, Yashin. or Trautmann , cannot often have improved.
With eight minutes left and Manchester City at last finding cracks In a hitherto solid Stoke decence, a cross from Bennett found Robinson directly in front of goal. ten yards out. He met the ball perfectly on the volley. hitting it well to the goalkeeper’s left, but Fox
showed extraordinary reflexes and, diving full length. thrust the ball away.
Afterwards Alan Durban. the Stoke manager, was as generous in his piaise of Fox as he had been scathing in his criticism when the goalkeeper’s error gave Crystal Palace victory at Stoke in September. The 21-year-old Fox, a £15.000 signing from Sheffield Wednesday two years ago, was dropped lmmediately after the Palace match and regained his place yesterday only because Roger Jones had been injured in training, but as Durban said: “Peter really looked a goalkeeper today. That save was one or the best I have seen in a long. long, time-“
Malcolm Allison and Robinson joined the chorus of praise for Fox. but understandably the Manchester coach was dissatisfied with his team’s performance in a match that was untidier than the strong capricious wind made inevitable. Apart from the last quarter of an hour. when. Manchester began to use space on the right flank there was little to admire but eflort in either side after a bright start in which they scored a well-taken goal each.
Stoke got the first after five minutes. O’Callaghan heading a long ball from Heath into the path of Crooks, whose positive run into the Penalty area was not hindered by the tentatively trailing challenge of Caton. Crooks might have gone for goal, but instead he reached the by-line and created a better chance for Dodd. who calmly Stroked his cutback into the net.
Caton soon atoned for his error, however. creating a goal 11 minutes later with a move not enough seen in English football. He took possession about 40 yards out with Stoke players thickly populating the edge of the penalty area. A sideways pass would have been acceptable. but the youngster noticed Power beginning a long run towards space behind the defence and he knocked the ball with supreme accuracy and timing into his path. When it dropped. Power was alone and he only to stab it wide of Fox: Excellent play by both.
The football then deteriorated, often to. factory-team level until the late stages when Manchester began to put their game together. Within a minute Smith cleared off the line from Robinson, and Heath from Henry; Daley narrowly failed to make contact with an
inviting pass from Bennett; then came Fox‘s save, and in the last minute Caton was unfortunate when he controlled a loose ball after a corner, turned. and drove It against a post.