CITY 2 ARSENAL 1

League Division 1

8th October 1977

Attendance 43,177

Scorers
City Barnes(3), Tueart(60 pen)
Arsenal MacDonald(24)

ref Peter Willis

City Corrigan, Clements, Donachie, Owen, Watson, Booth, Kidd, Barnes, Power, Hartford, Tueart – sub Channon(unused)

Arsenal Jennings, Rice Nelson, Price, O’Leary, Simpson, Brady, Matthews, MacDonald, Stapleton, Rix – sub Walford

MALCOLM MACDONALD SCORES ARSENAL’S GOAL

MEMORY MATCH
An article written by John Maddocks in the City programme 25th April 1987

When Arsenal visited Maine Road in October 1977, City had just been dethroned from the First Division top spot, having their first League game of the season at Coventry the previous Tuesday… and the team welcomed Gary Owen back to wear the No. 4 shirt, Brian Kidd switching to No. 9, nudging out Joe Royle. Mike Channon was named as sub, having missed the previous three games through a niggling pelvic injury,o Paul Power continued in his role.
The Highbury side had a strong international flavour about it, Jennings, O’Leary, Brady, Stapleton and Co, and a gate of well over 40,000 turned up to witness what would surely be an intriguing game.

The Gunners were just above the half-way mark in the League, Don Howe had recently returned to Arsenal to work alongside manager Terry Neill, after trying his hand at managership at West Brom and then moving on to Leeds United to join Jimmy Armfield.
The Blues started as though they were more than keen to get out of their systems. Latecomers were to miss the first goal which was scored after 3 minutes. An Arsenal clearance was blocked in the midfield and the ball ran to Peter Barnes, who set off on a dash of about 40 yards.Pat.Jennings advanced to meet him, but it was the young City player who won the race and chipped the Northern Ireland keeper with tremendous coolness.

It took the Gunners a further 21 minutes to get an equaliser. Graham Rix made ground down the right and put a high ball over to the far side of the penalty area, bypassing Dave Watson, Joe Corrigan saw the danger and rushed from his line but he was just beaten by Arsenal’s Malcolm Macdonald, whose firm header was sent sharply into the net. The goal would have pleased his manager, who had been less overjoyed with Macdonald and with team-mate Alan Hudson during the club’s pre-season tour to Australia. Both players had been ordered home for a breach of club discipline.
Referee Peter Willis, a notable authoritarian, booked Peter Simpson for body-checking Barnes just before the interval, a booking which was to have a deeper significance later in the match, and during the game he also collected the names of Rice and Asa Hartford, both for dissent.

The game flowed on with plenty of good things about it, notably the play of youngsters Paul Power, Gary Owen and Barnes, and for the Gunners the midfield skills of Graham Rix and Liam Brady were much in evidence. The deciding goal arrived after 60 minutes when David Price illegally put the brakes on Owen as he sped into the penalty area, Mr Willis pointed to the spot, and Dennis Tueart planted the ball wide of Jennings to score his fifth goal of the season.
After 75 minutes Simpsons’ earlier booking caught up with him. He upended Barnes yet again and received his marching orders for the first time in his career, a decision that did not please Terry Neill, who felt the punishment to be a harsh one.

Although there were no further goals, both ’keepers were kept busy in the remainder of the game. Brian Kidd, Power and Owen brought good saves out of Jennings, while Corrigan kept out goal-bound efforts from MacDonald and Frank Stapleton.
Asa Hartford’s booking had some serious implications for City. He had been sent off in a pre-season tour game in Holland against Zwolle PEC, and had also received bookings in two other games since the start of the season. His indiscretion cost the Club his services for three games.