CITY 3 LUTON TOWN 0
League Division 1
5th March 1991
attendance 20,404
scorer Quinn(21, 42), Allen(31 pen)
ref P Danson
City Coton, Brightwell, Pointon, Reid, Hendry, Redmond, White, Allen, Quinn, Megson, Heath – subs Harper(64), Hill(76)
Luton Chamberlain, Johnson, McDonagh, Beaumont, Rodger, Dreyer, Elstrup, Preece, Dowie, Pembridge, Black – subs Farrell(56)
NIALL QUINN MAKES IT 3-0
FROM THE PRESS BOX
IAN ROSS WRITING IN THE TIMES 6TH MARCH 1991
Manchester City kept alive their slender hopes of laying claim to a place in next season’s UEFA cup last night with an emphatic victory over a dispirited and totally ineffective Luton Town side, more importantly, from a parochial viewpoint, City’s win moved them up into fifth place, above their neighbours, Manchester United.
Having seen his side squander an assortment of presentable chances during the course of three successive defeats, Peter Reid, The City manager, recalled Allen in an attempt to add a cutting edge to his forward line.
Allen’s Forte is the opportunist strike which possibly explains his failure to open the scoring in only the second minute after Quinn had sent him clear down the centre. With possibly too much time available to him, Allen succeeded only in scooping his shot well wide of the Target.
Luton, seeking a third consecutive win to sustain their perennial fight against relegation, were always neat and precise, but they found little respite from defensive duties.
The inevitable breakthrough came after 21 minutes when McDonough failed to intercept a Heath pass, so allowing Quinn to sprint forward and score with some ease. An equally unfortunate defensive mistake was to present City with the second goal after 31 minutes.
Rodger lost control of an awkwardly bouncing ball and in attempting to retrieve the situation he hauled down Allen, who rose to his feet to dispatch an uncontested penalty. The home side further extended their lead three minutes before the interval when Quinn rose magnificently to meet a White cross.
The onslaught continued unabated well into the second half as Luton’s resolve began to crumble. Heath almost scored with a Crisp volley and Quinn saw a close-range shot cleared off the line.
