CITY 2 MANCHESTER UNITED 1
League Cup Semi-Final 1st Leg
3rd December 1969
attendance 55,799
Scorers
City Bell(13), Lee(88 pen)
United Charlton(66)
ref Jack Taylor
City Corrigan, Book, Pardoe, Doyle, Booth, Oakes, Summerbee, Bell, Lee, Young, Bowyer – sub Connor(unused)
United Stepney, Edwards, Dunne, Burns, Ure, Sadler, Best, Kidd, Charlton, Stiles, Aston – sub Ryan
But it also made us more determined than ever to get the better of our greatest rivals and we began to play again ourselves. Our chance came when Franny Lee had the ball laid up to him inside the box and he turned Centre Half Ian Ure. The big blonde Scot, who had joined United from Arsenal, couldn’t compete with Franny’s pace and he brought him down. Franny stepped up to take the spot kick to make it 2-1 which ended up being the final score.
FROM BLUE BLOOD THE MIKE DOYLE STORY
COLIN BELL PUTS CITY 1-0 UP
…It was Lee who put City on the goal standard in the 13th minute of this remarkable match. He wriggled through United’s left flank and beat three men before his shot was finally blocked and the ball broke to Colin Bell who hit a first-time shot low past the helpless Stepney.
Alan Thompson
BOBBY CHARLTON EQUALISES
…United had no answer to Bell’s drive and Lee’s sharpness with his devastating darts through the middle considerably upsetting Ure. But City’s morale drooped when Nobby Stiles clamped down on Bell in the second half and Ure finally emerged as the master of Lee, although there was little in it in the end.
Peter Gardner
FRANCIS LEE IS FOULED AND IT’S A PENALTY
FRANNY SCORES FROM THE PENALTY SPOT TO GIVE CITY A 2-1 LEAD TO TAKE INTO THE SECOND LEG
FROM FRANCIS LEE, TRIUMPH, TREACHERY AND TOILET ROLLS
For the first leg at Maine Road, United welcomed back a key player, midfield tiger Nobby Stiles, on the comeback trail after a nasty knee injury. He obviously wasn’t match fit, but Nobby was nothing. If not a competitor…
This match was much tighter than our League romp, but I set up our early opener for Colin Bell. I got free cutting in from the left to try a shot and it broke for colin to finish smartly. It was nip and tuck, but we then faced a real fight after the break when Bobby Charlton running into the box, saw a Brian kidd cross break his way and he hammered it into the net from eight yards.
That could have flattened us but instead it inspired us to play our own game in a classic cup tie. There was great, late controversy as I both won and scored the 88th minute penalty that gave us a precious 2-1 win. Not for the first time I was accused of diving, but that was nonsense; I was clearly caught and brought down by defender Ian Ure as I knocked the ball past him.
I got up and put my penalty firmly inside Alex Stepney’s right hand post. We had the advantage, a slim one, going to Old Trafford…
