BLACKBURN ROVERS 0 CITY 2
Noel Brotherston Testimonial
11th September 1990
Attendance
Scorers Beckford, Ward
Ref
City Coton, I Brightwell, Pointon, Kendall, Hendry, Redmond, White, Beckford, Allen, Brennan, Ward – subs Dibble, Seagraves, Harper, Hughes, Peters, Sheron, A Ward, Wallace
FROM THE CITY PROGRAMME SEPTEMBER 1990
Blackburn Rovers played host to the Blues on Tuesday night in a testimonial game for Rovers’ former winger, Noel Brotherston, and the occasion was made particularly memorable by the appearance of Howard Kendall in a City shirt for the first half!
Perhaps, then, it was no co-incidence that both City goals in a 2-0 stroll came before half-time, the second an absolutely superb chip from Mark Ward, and the Blues’ boss enjoyed having a different perspective on his players who he normally encourages from the
confines of the bench:
“Obviously the game was fairly light-hearted, but at the same time no-one goes out to lose a game of football and I enjoyed pulling on a shirt again” admitted Howard Kendall, apparently none-the-worse after his exertions!
“Noel Brotherston was with Blackburn when I was player-manager at Ewood Park some ten years ago, and when he asked if l would play in his testimonial I was happy to accept. I very much enjoyed the experience of being a player-manager then, and this game brought back a few happy memories for me,” said the Blues’ boss, for whom the fixture also had a serious side:
“l feel that playing a match is better than straight-forward training for the players, and as long as no-one picks up a knock, then it can be a useful exercise.”
Despite his impressive midfield performance in midweek, the City manager was not giving anything away regarding the Blues’ midfield line-up this afternoon and perhaps one or two of the first-team squad will now be fighting even harder for their places!
