It’s minutes away from the big kickoff on the 2009-10 Premier League season! Starting in a few minutes we’ll be live-blogging the action from Ewood Park.
One big surprise to the City starting 11: there is a place for Micah Richards, who had limited preseason action. It’ll be Bridge, Toure, Dunne, and Richards along the back, SWP, Barry and Ireland in midfield, Robinho, Adebayor, Bellamy in front. Given in goal.
Blackburn are putting out Robinson, Warnock, Samba, Givet, Jacobsen, Pedersen, N’Zonzi, Andrews, Diouf, Roberts, and McCarthy.
It’s a minute’s applause for Sir Bobby Robson, the whole park joining in. City’s fans are in blue but the players are in the black away strip, Blackburn in its familiar home strip.
2nd minute. City have had most of the ball very early on but nothing of consequence so far. Dunne had to make a clearance in the box, City move on the break–Adebayor SCORES!!! GOAL!!!
SWP broke out on the right wing, then played a great ball back for Adebayor (who had played the original ball), who smashed it to Robinson’s left. A terrific goal and a dream start to the season. 1-0, City!!
5th minute. Hughes’s decision to field an attacking lineup provides immediate dividends.
6th minute. Nice tackle from Bridge wins the ball back on the edge of City’s box. City need to hold on the ball and lead for a bit, but Dunne commits a foul 45 yards from goal. Pedersen lined up the free kick and put it a mile over the goal. Replay shows just how calm SWP was with the ball to set up Adebayor on the goal.
9th minute. Dangerous moment there off Blackburn’s long throw, resulting in a corner that Given fists away. City clear and break again through SWP, but this time it comes to nothing, Barry played the wrong ball.
12th minute. Bellamy just offside on Ireland’s chipped through ball, he would have been through. So far City look good but Blackburn have asked some questions with crosses and long balls into the box, trying to take advantage perhaps of City’s new defensive partnership.
14th minute. Another cross from Jacobsen that McCarthy gets a touch to but it’s well wide. One senses that one goal is not going to win this game for City.
16th. It’s ping-pong football at the moment, Blackburn are playing very direct and City are trying to do instant counter-attacks after recovering the ball. This time City keep it a big longer but Bellamy again is just offside–that one was closer. Carlos Tevez looks on from the bench.
17th minute. Richards with another clearance, he has looked just fine so far.
18th minute. Dunne has had his critics this summer but what Blackburn are doing suit his game–lots of headers need to to be won. Best chance yet falls to Roberts after some head tennis in the box but he side foots it over.
20th minute. It’s a hat-trick of offsides for Bellamy. But they are getting more and more fractional. Maybe it’s the #39 number he is wearing that used to belong to Anelka, who was always offside when he wasn’t scoring goals.
22nd minute. One would like to see City keep it on the floor a bit more, there’s no one out there inclined to play the simple ball. Pedersen briefly won the ball in dangerous decision but it’s a good recovery for City to get the ball back. Barry fouled in the center circle.
23rd minute. Nearly a bad miscue there on a long bouncing ball that fell awkwardly between Dunne and Given, Dunne left it but Given needed two tries to claim it. More pressure from Rovers.
26th minute. Blackburn line up another free kick, this one about 30 yards out. McCarthy took it but Given saw it all the way and gathers it easily.
27th minute. But Blackburn come right back at City and win a corner. Rovers have had the upper hand the last few minutes. Samba heads it in and Given makes a great save. Blackburn come back yet again and win another corner.
29th minute. Given takes the corner but his quick clearance for Robinho goes out of bounds. Replay shows Samba beat Richards to the ball on that corner kick a couple of minutes ago, Given had to go to his left and low to put a strong arm on that one. Finally City get the ball down into the final third but Barry’s cross from the left finds no one.
31th minute. City need one of three things to happen now: a) grab another goal on the counter b) control ball much better or c) pray to make it to halftime and make some tactical changes. City go for b) there with some nice spell of possession, SWP ran into the box but couldn’t control it cleanly.
32nd minute. Another long throw on the left from Pedersen ends with McCarthy smashing it so awry on the volley even Big Sam has a laugh.
35th minute. Blackburn fans are chanting “you’ve only come for the money” to City’s players.
37th minute. Excellent Blackburn move as Roberts beat Dunne for pace, then pulled it back for McCarthy, but he couldn’t get a strong shot off and City get out of that one.
38th minute. Robinho with an excellent strike from left of the box forces a good save from Robinson and a corner, but nothing comes of the City corner.
40th minute. Given is getting plenty of catching practice but he dropped that one to no consequence. Nice turn by Adebayor finds Bellamy, Pedersen recovers well to head Bellamy’s cross over for a corner.
41st minute. SWP tried to dribble through tight space in the box but it’s cleared away. On the ensuring throw Barry does well to win a foul 3 yards outside the area on the right side of the box.
42nd minute. Robinho gets it wrong there, Barry’s free kick was played beautifully and Robinho was unmarked on the back post. It would have been difficult to score from that angle but Robinho flubbed it well wide of the target.
43rd minute. Knock on wood, Toure has had a stellar first half winning balls at the back.
44th minute. Given came for the ball on a long throw but didn’t get the ball–another dangerous moment but City survive. Another long throw and the ball falls to Andrews who blasts it at Dunne’s arm, a half-hearted call for a penalty but the ref says no. Replay shows Dunne’s arm was tucked into the body.
46th minute. City have the ball for a good spell but Diouf stays on the floor after his challenge on Adebayor and City sportingly play it out. Mike Dean doesn’t think Diouf really needed to stay down and I agree.
There’s the halftime whistle and City will be happy to have the lead intact. After the first 10 or 15 minutes, Blackburn had the better of the game with their direct approach causing City some problems. City have looked unsteady at times at the back but so far but Given has only had to make one quality save. It’s the in-between long balls over the top and crosses that are causing more of a problem.
Will be interesting to see if Hughes rings in a change while there’s still a lead to protect. de Jong might well enter the fray, and surely at some point in the 2nd half Tevez will make an appearance.
48th minute. City need to do a better job wining the 2nd ball off these headers. Bellamy gets it on the left, the ball’s worked around left to right and back again, Bridge ended up taking a shot from outside the box that goes wide. That was better from City.
50th minute. Now Blackburn keep it on the floor for a brief spell but end up losing it over the touch line. Ireland breaks down the right side but can’t control an ambitious through ball. Meanwhile, rain has descended on to the park, conditions might get quite sloppy before this is over. This is English football!
52nd minute. Bob Dylan was wrong when he said a hard rain’s gonna fall. A hard rain IS falling on Ewood Park. Blackburn won’t mind this, how will City cope?
53rd minute. Warnock did well there to keep SWP from getting onto Robinho’s ball into the box, playing it off the City man for a goal kick.
55th minute. It’s an even game at the moment but that represents an improvement, City are playing better this half. That was an excellent team move spreading the ball across the pitch, ending with a Warnock tackle and a City throw. Some good passing and movement.
57th minute. Lovely shoulder fake that Robinho just used to get past Givet was worth a fiver alone, though nothing comes of it.
58th minute. “Blue Moon” is ringing through the stadium, City fans are cheered but what’s going on last few minutes. City still need a second, one feels.
59th minute. And Blackburn show why with a very dangerous cross from Diouf, it’s headed across but no one is there. Then on the follow up Roberts is wide open from 12 yards and Given has to make his second quality save of the match.
61st minute. City just kept the ball for a good 15 passes, ending with a cross from Bellamy that doesn’t find Adebayor. Blackburn now have the ball on the left with yet another dangerous throw from Pedersen coming up…
62nd minute. So close for Robinho! A great counter-attack eventually gives Robinho the chance to shoot on his left from just outside the area on the right, hard and low but Robinson does really well to get a hand to it. City have it again and Bellamy wins another corner.
64th minute. Enjoyable game this if you like English football. The rain seems to have gone away for now. Both sides are showing terrific commitment out there.
65th minute. Richard Dunne just knocked over Roberts like a bowling pin with that shoulder charge, judged as fair by the ref. Replay shows Roberts made a meal of that one. Roberts is now coming off and Chelsea loanee Di Santo is on. I’m not sorry to see Roberts go, he’s always caused City problems over the years.
66th minute. Toure did well there to recover after Pedersen was briefly in the clear getting on to the end of a long ball. Tevez is about to come on for City.
67th minute. Tevez on, Bellamy off. Bellamy has done well today. But wait, there’s a hold up because the 4th official putup the wrong number on the sub. Play goes on while that gets sorted out. Mark Hughes is annoyed. Now it’s Robinho that will come off, not Bellamy.
68th minute. Robinho not thrilled to be coming off, though to be fair most would pick Bellamy to play 20 hard minutes in the rain (which is back) to close out a match.
71th minute. Nice move there by City nearly sets up Tevez, Samba got a foot in. Game is in a bit of a lull at the moment, City need to hold its nerve.
72nd minute. Blackburn has yet another corner, City deal with it. Bellamy in the clear, he plays it to Adebayor who unselfishly sets up Ireland, but the pass is not great and Ireland has to use the left foot. Poor shot goes over the bar. That was a good chance….
Skipping ahead to injury time:
The rest of this thread was accidentally deleted, but to make a long story short, Ireland scored a BRILLIANT GOAL in the 91st minute to wrap this one up for City, 2-0. He was played in by SWP, tried to round the keeper, and when Robinson recovered he calmly moved the ball back to the centre before slotting with his right foot into the corner. That was the definition of cool!
Leading up to the goal there were some yellow cards handed out to Richards, Warnock, and Gallagher, and a couple more Blackburn free kicks, including one blazed just over by McCarthy in the 80th minute, and numerous City break-outs that didn’t quite to come to anything. Tevez was involved and looked quite good, his clever run in behind onto SWP’s pass in the 81st minute set him up for a shot that Robinson held well. City had chance after chance to counter before finally finding the net for a second time.
A funny moment at the final whistle as Mark Hughes slipped shaking Big Sam’s hand, but Toure and Dunne did not slip up at the back and they are my men of the match for City. Blackburn’s PA announced Pedersen as Rovers man of the match and that is fair.
An ideal opening start to the campaign for City–excellent early goal, successfully enduring extended pressure as Blackburn came more and more into the game, then re-asserting control in the second half, capped by a brilliant goal from Ireland that we’ll be enjoying on highlight reels for some time. You could hardly have written a better script for the opening day, and the fact that at times it was not pretty and that Blackburn certainly gave City a hard scrap in pouring rain is all the more encouraging.
Plenty to celebrate for City’s players, traveling supporters, and one or two bananas that also braved the rain. Slightly surprising that de Jong did not figure into this at all; rather than change tactics at halftime, Hughes apparently asked his players to be a little more patient and calm in possession. In any case, that was a big improvement after the interval. Shaun Wright-Phillips was immense today, and you just couldn’t take him off; he had assists on both goals and made numerous telling runs.
Emmanuel Adebayor struck after only three minutes of his debut to help Manchester City make a winning start to the new Premier League season.
The £25m summer signing lashed in an 18-yard drive to open his City account.
Chris Samba's header was superbly saved by Shay Given, who also denied Benni McCarthy as Rovers responded well.
After the break Given kept out Jason Roberts's header and Robinho's shot was saved by Paul Robinson, before Stephen Ireland slotted in to seal the points.
After City's summer spending spree that brought in five players at a cost of almost £100m, the pressure was on for them to deliver on the pitch from the first whistle.
And that was virtually what they did as Adebayor wasted no time in continuing his great run of form against Rovers that had seen him score eight times against them for his former team Arsenal.
Allardyce laments 'harsh result'
The Togo striker played the ball out wide to Shaun Wright-Phillips and when the winger cut back inside and rolled the ball square invitingly, Adebayor was there to drill home his shot that Robinson could only help into the net.
With Rovers clearly stunned, and their pre-match promise to kick lumps out of their opponents now needing a readjustment, City enjoyed a dominant 10-minute spell.
But once the dust had settled, Rovers hit back and began to run the midfield as Gareth Barry - another City debutant - struggled to cope as the only holding midfielder.
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And soon it became clear that for all City's potential in attack - such apparent strength in depth that Carlos Tevez was only on the bench - their problems at the back had not been solved.
Kolo Toure, City's third new boy in their starting line-up, and his central defensive partner Richard Dunne looked less than comfortable under a number of diagonal high balls.
Rovers debutant Steven N'Zonzi had a shot hacked away and Roberts lifted a volley over the bar from 12 yards after Blackburn worked a chance via a bout of head tennis.
Frailties in City's backline were again in evidence when Given and Dunne, and then Given and Toure, just about got away with mix-ups.
Rovers, though, could not take their chances. McCarthy struck a free-kick straight at Given and Samba's header was also kept out by the keeper.
'Fighting spirit' pleases Hughes
Another well-worked move ended in McCarthy firing straight at Given as big-spending City found themselves firmly on the back foot.
The previously anonymous Robinho then announced his presence on the pitch when his drive from 18 yards was tipped over by Robinson.
Back came Rovers and when Keith Andrews' volley hit Dunne's arm there were loud shouts for a penalty but the referee waved them away.
A spell of driving rain after the break made conditions difficult and neither side could establish any rhythm or keep possession.
In fairness to City, they had also tightened up at the back and were no longer affording Rovers as much space to work in.
Oops - Hughes' early season slip-up
But one lapse of concentration almost cost the visitors when an unmarked Roberts headed through a crowd of players and it took another fine stop from Given to keep his side in front.
Shortly after, the enigmatic Robinho almost sealed it for City but his shot was brilliantly diverted by Robinson, who dived low to his right.
It was the last contribution by the Brazilian forward as he made way for Tevez to make his debut.
The Argentine, who joined for £25m in the summer, almost copied his strike partner Adebayor by notching on his debut but once again Robinson was equal to a testing shot.
Before that, Ireland ballooned over after great work by Bellamy who had launched a rapid counter attack.
And McCarthy fizzed over a 20-yard free-kick as Rovers desperately tried to salvage something from the game.
But late on, Ireland broke clear and bided his time before coolly converting at the far post to ensure City started the season - and their new era - with three points and an away victory that is already half the total they managed last season.
Blackburn manager Sam Allardyce:
"I think it was very harsh," he said. "Our failing today was in the poor quality of our finishing.
"But their goalkeeper Shay Given also made one brilliant save after another and that kept them in the game.
"We should have gone in at half-time in front. In the second half we couldn't quite manage to achieve the same tempo. It is very disappointing."
Manchester City boss Mark Hughes:
"Many people might have been looking to see if we were going to fall flat on our face today and I thought we gave a great response.
"You saw great character from City today. If we continue to play with the character we showed today then we will keep progressing.
"We stood up to the challenge and we showed the qualities we will need."
