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Manchester City secured a comfortable 2-0 victory of Romanian's FC Timisoara to secure their place in the Europa League group stages. Goals from two academy graduates: Shaun Wright-Phillips and Dedryck Boyata ensured that European football would be returning to the City of Manchester Stadium. The home side looked impressive without ever being truly stretched as the Romanian side were swiftly brushed aside. Manager Roberto Mancini made wholesale changes coming into the second leg of the Europa League qualifying tie against Timisoara, on a rain soaked night at The City of Manchester Stadium. With a 1-0 cushion already secured from the first leg in Romania, Roberto Mancini brought in young defender Dedryck Boyata as well as finding place in the starting line-up for Jo, the Brazilian striker, previously thought to be on his way out of Eastlands. It appears Mancini has gifted the former CSKA Moscow player a chance of redemption. The opening stages of the match proved relatively uninspiring with neither side prepared to really commit to the attack for fear of being punished on the counter-attack. L24 million man David Silva looked to drop into the space afforded to him by the running of Emmanuel Adebayor but the former Valencia playmaker offered little in terms of incisive creative play. The half-hour mark passed without either team providing a potent menace to the other's goal. Timisoara remained organised and compact when faced with the threat of City's interchanging wide players and Dedryck Boyata looked composed at the heart of the Manchester City defence to quell any possible danger. City threatened through David Silva who managed to evade his marker to float a delicate cross onto the head of Jo. The Brazilian, however, found the Timisoara 'keeper, Costel Pantilimon, equal to his effort as the cushioned header was elegantly pushed over the bar and out of play. Sloppy play from Timisoara then gifted Adebayor a scoring chance but the City man saw his effort roll wide of the goal-keeper's right hand post. With Manchester City growing stronger as the game progressed, Patrick Viera played an expertly weighted through-ball to Shaun Wright-Phillips who's shot evaded the two ensuing defenders and slotted perfectly into the corner of the Timisoara goal. With forty-three minutes gone, Manchester City had a one goal lead on the night to make the tie 2-0 on aggregate. In terms of the tie, the goal affected little, as either way Timisoara would have to score two goals to claim victory, because even with the scores level at 2-2 on aggregate, the Romanian's would claim the victory on away goals. The home team walked off the pitch quite content on the half-time whistle as the sound of "Crazy Nights" by Kiss cheerfully greeted the players over the Public Announcement system. The teams remained unchanged as they entered the field of play to await the start of the second half. There was plenty of blue visible in the crowd but, sadly, for Manchester City this was due to the number of empty seats visible as opposed to the number of Manchester City fans clad in sky blue and cheering their team on. With both sides struggling to make little, if any, attacking inroads, Adebayor flashed a shot in the direction of the Timisoara goal, however, the effort failed to gain any power and trickled into Pantilimon's outstretched glove. With the match heading for a spell of mediocrity, two events regained the attentions of the Manchester City fans. First: the impressive Dedryck Boyata rose highest at the back-post to head a powerful effort past the despairing 'keeper to secure the match and the tie at 2-0. Adebayor then found himself presented with a fine opportunity due to a lack in concentration in the Timisoara back-line. The former Togo international conspired to shoot wide to the frustrations of the home fans and manager Roberto Mancini. As the game wore on, City looked to keep the ball and ensure that this comprehensive victory did not suffer from any losses in concentration. Each time Timsoara looked to get in behind the Manchester City defence, the Belgian Dedryck Boyata remained equal to the task to cap of a commanding display from the young defender. David Silva showed flashes of creativity to give City fans a small illustration as to why their team splashed L24 million as the midfielder turned his full-back inside out before firing at goal. The Timisoara 'keeper Panitlimon again proved his worth as he palmed the ball away. With eighty-four minutes on the clock Joe Hart still found himself with little to do as Timisoara had yet to launch a shot towards the Manchester City goal. Shay Given may have forgiven Mancini for leaving him out of this clash with more excitement being found on the City bench than in and around Hart's goal. The shrill peep of the referee's whistle was greeted by a chorus of cheers from the Manchester City fans who will now be relishing the prospect of an assault at the Europa League trophy. |
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