Man City 2 - 0 Everton

A GOAL Pele would have been proud of, was the way Stuart Pearce described the 25-yarder from Danny Mills that sparked this game into life.

For 72 minutes neither City or Everton really looked willing or able to shake off an 11.15am kick-off and give their fans something to shout about.

But up stepped Danny Mills with the first goal of his City career and what a way to mark it.

He picked the ball up out on the right midfield and cut inside before hitting it 'sweet as a nut' past a despairing Nigel Martyn in the Everton goal. Sky TV clocked it at 71mph.

And it was a goal the much-maligned defender deserved after a solid game today and a string of good performances in the past few weeks.

The second goal came in the final minute from a Joey Barton ball threaded behind the Everton back four that Darius Vassell converted from eight yards, ending a shaky run of three successive defeats for the Blues.

Although Everton rarely threatened City were once again finding it hard to break down a side that arrived with a point, and seemed happy to go home with it.

I think the fans are going to have to get used to this sort of mentality from some clubs and should see it as a back-handed compliment.

A real plus from the game was the touch and vision that Stephen Ireland showed on his first Premiership game for the Blues.

His first half performance was a little quiet but as he found his feet later in the match and was able to get on the ball further up the pitch, he was able to hurt a tiring Everton defence.

Joey Barton again led from the front, and Lee Croft’s introduction on 63 minutes gave the side fresh impetus, a ringing endorsement of the work being put in by the academy staff.

But this game will be remembered for the Danny Mills moment and I wonder if he will be sending a copy of the match video to Brazil?

Teams:
Man City:
James: (7, kicking a bit shaky, one good stop)
Mills: (8, are you watching Pele?)
Dunne: (7, strong against Bent)
Distin: (7, very composed)
Jordan: (7, did what was asked)
Sibierski: (7, still struggling)
Barton: (8, non-stop display.)
Ireland: (9, have we found a play-maker?)
Musampa: (6, poor and never involved)
Cole: (7, struggled after missing three games)
Vassell: (8, non-stop running and pace)
Subs:
Croft for Musampa 63mins, (8, fresh impetus)
Jihai for Cole 90 mins
Subs not used:
Sommeil, Onuoha, De Vlieger

Everton:
Martyn, Ferrari, Yobo, Weir, Nuno Valente, Osman (Davies 75), Cahill, Neville, Kilbane, Bent (Beattie 63), McFadden (Ferguson 70).
Subs Not Used: Wright, Kroldrup.

Att: 42,681. Ref: M Halsey.