SHEFFIELD UNITED 1 CITY 1
11th January 1975
attendance 25,190
scorers
City Booth(79)
Sheff Utd Dearden(39)
Ref Roger Kirkpatrick
City Corrigan, Hammond, Donachie, Doyle, Booth, Oakes, Summerbee, Bell, Marsh, Royle, Tueart – sub Henson(unused)
Sheffield United Brown, Badger, Hemsley, Eddy, Colquhoun, Franks, Woodward, Bradford, Dearden, Currie, Field – sub Nicholl
FROM THE PRESS BOX
BRIAN CROWTHER WRITING IN THE GUARDIAN 13TH JANUARY 1975
Manchester City are at present like one of those comedy acts on the highboard whose dives are brilliantly executed yet end in belly flops. They are so skilful and inventive individually and their collective failure seems almost a free choice. On Saturday they drew 1-1 … bringing their run of matches without victory to six.
It is difficult to define the element that is missing from their play, apart from the obvious one of scoring goals in sufficient quantity. They seem to be saying: “We know we can win; so why should we prove it ?” On second thoughts, such words stick in the throats of Oakes, Doyle and Bell, than whom no players in football are more anxious to see a finished article.
In the first half Rodney Marsh seemed set to have one of his great days but the game became an unsuitable vehicle for him. City, who had beaten Sheffield 3-2 at Maine Road last month, dominated play before the interval with Booth, back in the League side after four months following a back operation, strengthening the defence. Marsh’s passes were things of beauty: Tueart was using the wings menacingly, as was Summerbee.
Later Summerbee seemed to lose sight of this objective in the general decline of playing standards. The work horses took over the game. United frequently allowed themselves to be dispossessed which helped City to stay on the attack and made even more surprising the Sheffield goal in the 39th minute. In a move started by Badger the ball came in from the right wing, was helped on by Field who evaded Doyle’s tackle, and Dearden followed its run towards goal, finally tapping it past the falling Corrigan.
Two minutes after the interval referee Kirkpatrick took both sides off the field for a few minutes while he told a whistler in the crowd that he would abandon the game unless he ceased his activity. Midway through the second half United’s goalkeeper, Jim Brown, confirmed that he was their best player by making a masterful save from Booth, whose header was flicked out at full stretch.
City’s overdue equalising goal came in the 79th minute when Eddy gave away a free kick which Marsh took on the right wing 30 yards out. Marsh delivered the ball with astonishing accuracy to the far post, where Booth headed it past Brown into the opposite side of the goal. With three minutes to go Colquhoun, who had returned to the United side after a three match suspension was booked for handling the ball in preventing an attack by Royle. And in injury time Bell made a rush through a crowded goalmouth, heading home a free kick from Summerbee. A goal was refused and the teams left the field to a babble of argument. It transpired that Royle had committed a foul elsewhere.