CITY 1 MANCHESTER UNITED 3

League Division 1

25th September 1976

attendance 48,861

scorers
City Tueart(7)
United Coppell(15), McCreery(25), Daly(69)

Ref A Jones

City  Corrigan, Donachie, Docherty, Doyle, Watson, Keegan, Kidd, Power, Royle, Hartford, Tueart – sub Booth(83)

United Stepney, Nicholl, Houston, Daly, Buchan, Greenhoff, Coppell, McIlroy, Pearson, Macari, Hill – sub McCreery(10)

from ROY OF THE ROVERS

FROM THE PRESS BOX

PAUL FITZPATRICK WRITING IN THE GUARDIAN 27TH SEPTEMBER 1976
Manchester United progressed through stages of disappointment, bad luck and uncertainty to a state of complete control in the Derby match with Manchester City at Maine Road on Saturday. The concession of an early goal and the premature loss of Pearson could easily have undermined United’s morale. But they survived those blows as they survived everything else. Thanks to Stepney they survived a powerful, well-placed header by Royal. Stepney’s save though of a different sort, was as crucial to this game as the one he made from Eusebio in the 1968 European Cup Final.
United also, thanks to the non-intervention of a linesman, survived what almost certainly was a goal by Power, Buchan making two astonishing rescue acts while lying on his back, but his second feat being performed after the ball looked to have crossed the line. Justifiably, the City players claimed that the ball had entered the goal, but it was in keeping with the excellent spirit of the match that neither they nor their manager, Tony Book , wanted to make an issue of it.

These were United’s two worst moments. There were others not quite so palpitating, Kidd’s overhead kick which Stepney adeptly turned over the bar: Kidd’s diving header for which Stepney just happened to be moving in the right direction and Keegan’s angled shot which Stepney fumbled, but then luckily watched the ball run just wide of the post before two in-rushing City forwards could get a toe to it.
Yet these narrow escapes failed to disguise the obvious: that City were below their best while United, in spite of some flaws, are approaching again the exhilarating heights of last season.

… “We thought we had the back four right,” said Tony Book, “but today they were a little hesitant.” In fact Donachie, and Doyle and Watson especially, could scarcely be faulted. Docherty was the hesitant one. Not surprising therefore, that Hill should play a major part in United’s three goals … the last goal being the outstanding moment of a superb game.
City’s goal, nodded home by the far post by Tueart after seven minutes was largely the fault of Stepney who committed himself to Kidd’s cross and then hesitated fatefully, Stepney was to make ample amends for that lapse.