Hull City v Manchester City friendly 1972/73

HULL CITY 0 CITY 1

Friendly

20th July 1972

attendance 4,000

scorer Marsh(83)

FROM THE PRESS BOX

PETER GARDNER WRITING IN THE MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS 21ST JULY 1972 Manchester City could start the season with a £200,000 problem. Rodney Marsh continues to play in an embarrassing hangover fashion that leaves a huge question mark stationed against the wisdom of involving such money on just one player. As one first team member put it: "It's a lot of money to splash on a juggler!" Marsh can be fascinating, and oh, so infuriating. Yet the provocative poser of whether he will ultimately suit City's go-go style sticks out like some raw, bleeding thumb. It was Marsh who put City into the final of the Swedish July Cup, crashing a free-kick through a gap in what was otherwise a solid wall of Hull defenders. However, it was as well Marsh achieved that feat for he did little else as City strived desperately to beat their Second Division opponents in a full blooded, grim tactical battle of English Cup-tie proportions last night, Manager Malcolm Allison remains firmly optimistic that Marsh will eventually be the saviour of City, pointing to his superb ability as a proven marksman to back his point. ... It was certainly a better City who narrowly beat Hull to qualify for Sunday's final. ... If Marsh's form again disappointed, there was certainly plenty to enthuse about in the young element of a line-up Allison could well utilise to start the season on August 12. Both Derek Jeffries and Tony Towers drew rapturous applause from some 4,000 appreciative Swedish fans in this rugged match, while Scottish international Willie Donachie was as immaculate as ever. It was at the back, in fact, where City looked most impressive. For the front three were unable to extract much joy from a Hull side who were determined not to concede their title easily. And it was not until seven minutes from time that Marsh did break the barrier, with his free-kick, after Francis Lee had been brought down five yards outside the penalty area.