U23s Take A Point From Man City Clash
City fielded the same side who succumbed to a 2-0 defeat by Sunderland at the Stadium of Light six days previously in the Premier League International Cup.
A fraught opening 45 minutes yielded few clear-cut opportunities in front of a bumper Holmes Park crowd with neither team able to get a flowing move in motion on a chilly evening.
Within the first 15 minutes, left back Connor Wood whipped in a cross for Layton Ndukwu, but the tenacious winger’s shot lacked enough power to worry Arijanet Muric in the net.
Shortly after, Tomiwa Dele-Bashiru looked for the bottom corner for Man City. Daniel Iversen, in the Foxes goal, was able to watch it skid wide of his far post though.
Iversen was called upon just before the interval, too, and the young Danish stopper did well to get a hand to Lorenzo Gonzalez’s header.
Josh Gordon’s header, meanwhile, caused problems for Muric in the Man City net after the break, although the visiting ‘keeper was able to grasp it at the second attempt.
Just after the hour-mark, Gordon skipped his way past two defenders inside the 18-yard box and managed to get a shot off, but Muric smothered it well at his near corner.
With just under 20 minutes remaining, midfielder Matt Smith had the ball in the net for Man City. However, the linesman's flag was up for offside and the score remained locked in stalemate.
As the clock ticked down, a guilt-edged opportunity fell to Gordon. Thomas curled a fine free-kick into Sam Hughes, who nodded it back across goal, but Gordon's attempt was cleared by Ed Francis.
At the other end, Smith was desperately unlucky too when Iversen clawed his looping header out for a corner with six minutes to go. Despite a frantic finale, the deadline remained unbroken.
Major moment…
Josh Gordon's late opportunity, bundled off the line by Ed Francis, ultimately summed up an evening of fine margins.
Had the former Stafford Rangers forward nodded his header a few inches either side, City would most likely be celebrating a ninth league success of the campaign.
Who impressed?
A battler in the middle of the pitch, Lamine Kaba Sherif delivered a spirited performance in testing circumstances against skilful opponents.
The midfield quagmire became increasingly congested in the second period in particular, perfect surroundings for a player of Kaba Sherif’s talents.
Where does it leave us?
City close the gap on leaders Liverpool to three points, but the Merseyside outfit have a game in hand following their 1-0 success over Derby County.
Coming up…
City travel to the EBB Stadium on Friday to lock horns with Chelsea (7:05pm kick-off) before a Premier League Cup trip to Portsmouth the following Tuesday (7pm).
The details…
City: Iversen, Wood, Knight, Hughes, Johnson, Choudhury (c), Dewsbury-Hall (Touray 45), Kaba Sherif, Ndukwu (Martis 59), Gordon, Thomas
Subs not used: Bramley, Ughelumba, Leshabela
Man City: Muric, Oliver, Latibeaudiere, Francis, Wilson, Davenport (c), Touaizi, Smith, Gonzalez (Wood 67), Dele-Bashiru, Poveda-Ocampo
Subs not used: Garcia, Sokol, La Rosa, Doyle
Attendance: 652
Referee: Thomas Bramall