Manchester City v Southampton 1991/92

City Coton, Hill, Pointon, Reid, Curle, D Brightwell, White, Sheron, Quinn, McMahon, Hughes – Subs I Brightwell(60), Simpson(60)

Southampton Flowers, Dodd, Benali, Horne, Moore, Ruddock, Adams, Cockerill, Shearer, Dowie, Hurlock – Subs Gilkes(19)

FROM THE PRESS BOX

CYNTHIA BATEMAN WRITING IN THE GUARDIAN 16TH MARCH 1992
An attention span of three minutes was quite sufficient to absorb the moments of magic in this match. City were booed long and hard as they left the pitch, beaten by a side struggling to avoid relegation.
Those who watched City’s first appearance on television this season might have wished they had spent their afternoon differently. “I’ve recorded this on video,” moaned one spectator. “To think I could have had the Lana Turner film instead.”
The only slinky mover here was Shearer. The big clubs who covet him had their instincts confirmed by the way the Southampton striker, picking up a throw-in on the left, turned Hill and crossed to the far post where his co-striker Dowie, unmarked, placed a beautifully angled header across the face of Coton’s goal and just inside the far post.
The 36th minute goal was enough to lift Southampton above Luton and out of immediate relegation danger. But as everyone knows statistics are damned lies, and Southampton’s position belies a more interesting set of figures.
These show that they have been beaten only twice in their last 17 games in League and cups, are unbeaten in their last nine and have not conceded a goal in their last five games. That bodes ill for Norwich, whom they meet in the FA Cup sixth-round replay on Wednesday.
City had been unbeaten at home since September and after withstanding 10 minutes of early pressure it looked as though they would go ahead only for what seemed two certain goals to be cleared off the line.
First Ruddock, named Man of the Match, stopped Quinn’s header, then the centre-back Moore booted out a shot from Sheron which took a deflection and looks sure to end up in the net. White, who had scored in City’s last six home wins, provided the next miss when, back to the goal, he tried a bicycle kick of high velocity but poor direction.
Southampton were too often hard-pressed in the second half to give Shearer and Dowie the service they needed, but they looked the better side as City, the midfielder Sheron apart, played in a state of panic. They bumped and barged, but style? There was none.
Reid and McMahon, sad to say, seem to have had their day, and City took on a new lease of life when Simpson, their £500,000 signing from Swindon, replaced the manager in midfield. Ian Brightwell replaced his brother David at centre-back, perhaps indicating that City still need someone to halve Curle’s. work.
The bootroom has leaked whispers of growing unrest at Maine Road and this performance, which leaves them with much to do to achieve a UEFA place next season will have done nothing to stifle them.