Manchester City head to Wembley this Sunday as they look to erase the memory of last year’s FA Cup defeat by beating Sunderland in the Capital One Cup Final.
The trip will be City’s fourth visit to the national stadium in three years. To commemorate this, MM has revisited some of the Blues’ most memorable trips to the national stadium.
5. Manchester City 2-1 West Bromwich Albion, 1970
City’s legendary team of Mike Summerbee, Colin Bell, Joe Corrigan among others may have been favourites for this League Cup final, but they had their work cut out when Jeff Astle gave Albion the lead after just five minutes.
After a hard-fought game that saw Mike Doyle conjure up an equalising goal, the game went into extra-time.
Glyn Pardoe proved to be the hero with a dramatic winner to secure City’s first ever success in the competition.
4. Manchester City 1-0 Stoke, 2011
This FA Cup Final will certainly be remembered more for its significance than for its qualities as a football spectacle.
Tony Pulis’ stubborn Potters side had frustrated the Citizens for the best part of 75 minutes until Yaya Toure finally rifled home from close range.
It was City’s first major piece of silverware for 35 years but more importantly the first trophy of the Abu Dhabi era.
The win rubber-stamped City’s arrival as a top contender in English football and gave them a platform on which to build their spectacular title success 12 months later.
3. Manchester City 3-1 Birmingham, 1956
It’s a crying shame that the late, great Bert Trautmann was not asked more often about what he thought of some of the modern day ‘injuries’.
His name may not ring too many bells with non-City fans under the age of 60, but his story is legendary.
With 17 minutes remaining, and his team already 3-1 up thanks to goals from Joe Hayes, Bobby Johnstone and Jack Dyson, Birmingham’s Peter Murphy rushed through on goal.
Trautmann flung himself at the striker’s feet but was knocked unconscious following a nasty collision between Murphy’s knee and the German keeper’s neck.
With no substitutions allowed, there was little other option than to wait for him to come round and assess the damage. After being revived, he insisted he was fit to continue.
Three days later an X-Ray revealed he had broken his neck in several places. Despite being fortunate to avoid total paralysis, he managed to shut Birmingham out and secure the cup for City.
2. Manchester City 2-1 Portsmouth, 1934
City’s first Wembley win, this game was won largely thanks to the performances of goalkeeper Frank Swift and striker Fred Tilson.
At just 21, Swift was yet to establish himself as the legend he is known as today and was extremely nervous going into the game.
After allowing a shot from the superbly-named Septimus Rutherford to slip through his fingers and gift Pompey the opening goal, he produced a string of fine saves to keep his side in the game.
With City somehow still trailing by just the one goal with just 15 minutes remaining, time appeared to be running out.
Tilson, who had reassured Swift about his earlier mistake by saying he would score two, promptly did so, including an 88th minute winner to send manager Wilf Wild… wild.
Swift fainted at the final whistle as his emotions got the better of him. His illustrious career was stunted by the Second World War before he was tragically killed in 1958 Munich Air Disaster.
1.Manchester City 2-2 Gillingham (Manchester City won 3-1 on penalties), 1999
Another game to feature heroics from a City goalkeeper, this time in the shape of Nicky Weaver’s penalty saving antics in the Division Two play-off Final.
He would never have had the opportunity to win the game had it not been for an extraordinary late turnaround from his outfield colleagues.
In a situation that mirrored the 2012 title win, failure was staring them in the face and they required two injury-time goals to have a chance of promotion.
With many of City’s current multi-millionaire stars just finishing primary school, the line was led by uncompromising Scot, Paul Dickov.
The game was goalless until Carl Asaba put the Gills in front with ten minutes to play. And if victory looked unlikely at that point, it looked impossible when Robert Taylor doubled the lead soon after.
Not to be outdone by Manchester United, who had scored two injury-time goals against Bayern Munich to clinch the treble just four days earlier, City mounted their own extraordinary comeback.
First Kevin Horlock smashed the ball into an empty net to drag any City fans who had departed early back into the stadium, before Dickov beat keeper Vince Bartram – the best man at his wedding – in the 95th minute.
After a goalless extra-time the game went to penalties. Weaver saved the first effort from Paul Smith. Adrian Pennock missed before the City stopper produced another save from Guy Butters to seal promotion.
And the rest, as they say, is history. Any City fan there on the day probably never thought they would see a finale like that again in the lifetimes.
How wrong they would be.
Image courtesy of thefacup, via YouTube, with thanks.
