Wolves 2-5 Manchester City - Match Report
Manchester City had no real problems qualifying for the quarter finals of the Carling Cup, though they were a goal down to Wolves until the 37th minute.
Manchester City had no real problems qualifying for the quarter finals of the Carling Cup, though they were a goal down to Wolves until the 37th minute. Nenad Milijas took the lead for City but goals from Adam Johnson, Samir Nasri, a Dorus De Vries own goal and two from Edin Dzeko put Mick McCarthys team in their place at the Molineux.Jamie OHara pulled one back for the hosts but they were ultimately outclassed on the night. It was hardly going to be the most important game of Roberto Mancinis reign as Manchester City manager, but he wasnt going to turn down a chance for silverware and although the Carling Cup is perhaps not the most prestigious of titles it is not to be sniffed at either. What IS to be sniffed at though is Carlos Tevezs apparent decision to sue the Italian manager for making him look bad. The Tevez saga is becoming more ridiculous by the day yet still manages to be completely trite at the same time. The Sky Blues must feel pretty much invincible after beating their Manchester rivals 6-1 at the weekend, and Mick McCarthys Wolves didnt look like theyd be able to halt Citys onslaught on all but their European opposition. The Black Country side are on pretty dire form - they came back from two goals behind at the weekend, but fans will surely be wondering why they found themselves two goals down to Swansea at home in the first place. McCarthy made 9 changes to the team that drew with Swansea - Stephen Ward and Kevin Doyle were the only two that remained in the team. Steven Fletchers calf injury kept him sidelined for a third consecutive match and Ronald Zubar and Kevin Foley also missed out. Towering target man Sam Vokes started alongside Doyle after an impressive substitute showing at the weekend and 19-year-old Matt Doherty started in the centre of defence. Not to be outdone, Mancini chose a completely different starting 11 to the one that hammered United - not a full strength team by any means, but with the likes of Edin Dzeko, Adam Johnson and Samir Nasri in the starting eleven it was hardly a reserve side. Luca Scapuzzi made his City debut on the left wing, and 18-year-old Abdul Razak was also handed a start. Wayne Bridge reminded everyone he was still actually a Manchester City player by taking his place on the bench, sitting alongside the volatile Mario Balotelli. Wolves kicked off but the opening minutes were slow with neither side (perhaps justifiably) appearing to care too much about the tie. One incident of note however was my realisation that Aleksander Kolarov looks quite a lot like Gareth Barry. Fascinating stuff, especially as Barry wasnt on the bench I feel a conspiracy theory coming on. Stefan Savic picked up a caution for bundling Stephen Hunt to the ground, but the resulting free kick was wasted by Nenad Milijas. David Edwards then had the first chance of the game, he outmuscled Pablo Zabaleta to connect with a Hunt cross and head goalwards but it went just over the bar. Wolves werent finished there though and were applying a good deal of pressure. They should perhaps have had a penalty though as Kolarov quite literally punched the ball behind for a corner. They should definitely have had a penalty. The ravenous Wolves continued however, and Nenad Milijas took the lead for the team in orangey-gold in the 18th minute. Sam Vokes attacked down the right, skipping past Zabaleta before putting in a low cross. There was some confusion as neither Milijas nor Adlene Guedioura seemed to be able to control it, but the Serbian managed to blast it into the top corner of the net on the turn. No-one could argue that McCarthys men hadnt deserved the lead either. City were starting to put some passes together finally, and if Dzeko had been able to connect with a Scapuzzi cross rather than just falling over, they may have been level. Abdul Razak then made the inadvisable decision to injure George Elokobi. It was accidental, so lets hope for the youngsters sake the giant Cameroonian saw it that way. Luckily the defender wasnt seriously hurt anyway. Luca Scapuzzi was raising some eyebrows; he had the composure and skill to dance around in the Wolves area with defenders flying in all around before getting away a shot which skimmed just wide. The visitors were level in the 37th minute. Pablo Zabaletas cross to Dzeko wasnt controlled well but the striker had the presence of mind to roll it to Adam Johnson who swept it into the corner of the net from just inside the 18-yard-box. Weve seen a lot of muted celebrations recently usually due to respect for the opposition. Johnsons unenthused celebration though was I suspect, due to a lack of respect for the competition as a whole. Johnson then turned provider to play a beautiful ball through the middle of the Wolves defence. Samir Nasri had timed his run to perfection and was left one on one with Dorus De Vries. He made no mistake and tucked it into the far corner to double Citys lead. And then it was three! A long ball from Johnson (again) to the far post was met by a rather weak finish from Scapuzzi. It was saved by the legs of De Vries but the rebound fell to Dzeko who thumped it into the roof of the net from point blank range. 3 goals in 3 minutes and 50 seconds for City an incredible turnaround. Guedioura showed his thunderbolt of a right foot by blasting a free kick just over the bar. It certainly had the power, but was always rising. The two teams left the field for the end of the first half. Wolves had been doing just fine until Manchester City decided they were going to win this one after all. Adam Johnson had to take most of the credit though, hed been fantastic in the second quarter. So how could Wolves turn it round? It was all down to the linguistic abilities of Mick McCarthy now. *Gulp*. Even the floating head of Ray Winston saw no way back suggesting a bet on City to repeat their weekend display by running out 6-1 victors. HALF TIME The first goal of the second half was always going to be important in shaping the remainder of the game, and Stephen Hunt should perhaps have scored it in the opening minutes. He found himself unmarked and onside with a rather good George Elokobi cross coming his way. His response? To hurl himself at the ball with no apparent technique in mind. The result was a bizarre volley caught on the knee that went nowhere near the goal. Man City then made it four. After all, a Wolves goal may have induced a struggle and that is so not what the new-look Sky Blues are all about. De Vries heroics were eventually undone by Luca Scapuzzi who scrambled it over the line after Samir Nasri had been denied. Im not even 100% sure it was his goal but with the sizeable grin on the young Italians face youd have to be some sort of sadist to deny him it. Lets hope Wanda von Dunajew isnt on the dubious goals panel. Abdul Razak was losing the most impressive Manchester City youngster of the night competition. He attempted to remedy this with a long range shot that was easily held by De Vries. The Ivorian was playing well, but Scapuzzi was looking fantastic. He unselfishly squared to Edin Dzeko for Citys 5th goal, showing awareness and maturity, and the Bosnian scored his second tap in of the night. Newly introduced Jamie OHara responded instantly for Wolves though, Hunt cut it back to Stephen Ward who then cut it back again to OHara. The midfielder managed to tuck it underneath Costel Pantilimon, and this prompted admirably light-hearted chants of were going to win 6-5 from the Molineux faithful. OHara then connected with a free kick to volley goalwards. He didnt quite catch it as hed have liked but it was one of those ones that somehow looks like its going to loop into the top corner anyway. Pantilimon was scrambling, but it floated just over. The Romanian keeper was called into action twice more. Stephen Ward broke at the City defence who were getting a bit bored and didnt bother closing him down. His shot was straight at the keeper, who wasnt stretched too much by Jamie OHaras effort moments later either. OHara was looking like Wolves biggest threat. He twisted and turned on the edge of the area before firing away a shot that was saved by Pantilimon. So that was that an easy enough win for City. Even when they were losing they didnt look like theyd be crashing out. These two sides meet in the league again on Saturday but dont read too much into this one neither side were fielding a full strength 11. Referee: Neil Swarbrick Wolves (4-4-2): De Vries, Doherty, Craddock, Elokobi, Ward, Edwards (Henry, 67), Guedioura, Milijas (OHara, 65), Hunt, Vokes, Doyle (Hammill, 65) Man City (4-2-3-1): Pantilimon, Zabaleta, Toure, Savic, Kolarov, De Jong, Razak (Milner, 85), Johnson, Nasri (Suarez, 67), Scapuzzi (Rekik, 74), Dzeko