SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY 0 CITY 3
FA Premier League
5th September 1992
attendance 27,169
Scorers White(20 & 75), Vonk(55)
Ref Ray Bigger
City Coton, I Brightwell, Phelan, Curle, Vonk, White, Reid, Flitcroft, Simpson, Sheron, Holden – subs McMahon(76), Mike(unused), Margetson(unused)
Wednesday Woods, Nilsson, Wilson, Palmer, Pearson, Warhurst, Watson, Bart-Williams, Waddle, Williams, Worthington – subs Harkes(41), Francis(66), Pressman(unused)
FROM THE PRESS BOX
CYNTHIA BATEMAN WRITING IN THE GUARDIAN 7TH SEPTEMBER 1992
Great stadium pity about the team. Vast Hillsborough, capacity 41,237, was eerily empty with an attendance of 27,169 for a Roses’ clash. That there were far fewer long before the end tells its own story.
Trevor Francis refused to blame injuries, notably to Hirst and Sheridan, for Wednesday’s start of one win in seven games: “We have coped before.” But the side’s thread-bare look underlined the club’s manpower shortage.
“We have broken new ground in the level of spending in recent times but frankly while we are very ambitious and moving in the right direction, we do not yet have the resources to match the scale of spending of certain top clubs,” said Francis in direct reference to City’s apparent affluence.
City’s manager Peter Reid knows that his squad is not as injury-proof as it needs to be. But he seems prepared to shake the money out of his chairman’s pocket in his bid to strengthen the side “He is as courageous a manager as he was a player,” said Francis.
At 38 and 36 Francis and Reid felt the need to Bolster the flagging fortunes of their sides by choosing to play themselves, it was the timing that illustrated the difference.
Reid started the game and left it with the match in City’s pocket. Francis went on after 66 minutes to try to staunch the bleeding, only to share in Wednesday’s humiliation.
But the man who had greatest influence was Ray Bigger. The referee ruled that a ball which appeared to ricochet off a Wednesday defender was deliberate back-pass which the goalkeeper Woods was penalized for handling.
“We would have needed the Harlem Globe Trotters on the line to defend against that,” said Francis after White had easily scored from the free kick rolled to him six yards from goal by Reid. To add insult to injustice Woods was booked for breaking out of the wall as the kick was about to be taken.
It was the end of Wednesday after only 20 minutes. For the first 10 or so they had looked impressive, continually finding Waddle, who stayed wide on the left and made good use of the space allowed him by City.
But increasingly Wednesday forgot about their £1 million purchase from Marseille, and by the end it was something of a surprise to realize he was still on the pitch.
Vonk zonked Wednesday with City’s second goal, heading in a splendid Brightwell cross early in the second half and proving City could live without Quinn, who is suspended. And White increased his chances of an England cap with a deliciously timed and perfectly placed strike with a quarter of an hour left.