City Youth v Burnley Youth

[Douglas Higginbottom]

I'm just kidding Doug you are the king of all things EDS anyway!

[youtube]_ArpG5nY3-U[/youtube]
The goals from last night if anyone has not seen them. 2 very well taken goals. I was on my feat before Pozo had even put it in the net.

Derby or Ipswich in the next round apparently; hopefully at home

Did I tell you to sit down? :) I was about the same as when he gets the ball with space he often does something special

[Goataldo]

Sumptious from Pozo. I have the opposite of a bad feeling about this.

[Risby]

Two brilliant goals. One has pace and the other has good ball control in tight spaces with a decent shot execution.
Future is getting brighter.

[Ted Hughes]

Sumptious from Pozo. I have the opposite of a bad feeling about this.

That finish by Pozo is a goal at any level. Plenty of cbs have fallen for similar tricks by David Silva & been opened up, but rarely does the ball end up being buried in the bottom corner like that. Usually it's over the bar or spanked straight at the keeper.

I think he has got it.

Lopez meanwhile was making those kind of solo runs for his previous club but it seemed to me that when he tried it over here, his reactions were a little too slow, his strength not enough, & he would lose the ball. Now he seems to have got that extra edge & is starting to do the same stuff for City as he did for Benfica. It may soon be time for him to go up a level in order to gain the extra, extra edge needed for the top level.

If these lads are progressing rapidly, we need to move them forward.

[Chinners]

Couldn't be arsed starting a thread on todays EDS game ...

Manchester City FC ‏@MCFC
GOAL!!! GUIDETTI!!! Nine minutes into his return he slides home Marcos Lopes cross to make it 1-0. #MCFC

[Chinners]

Manchester City FC ‏@MCFC
GOAL CITY! Denis Suarez fires in a shot from an excellent Marcos Lopes pass which deflects and loops over the Reading keeper. 2-0.
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Manchester City FC ‏@MCFC
Correction: It was Jose Angel Pozo who scored City's second goal, not Denis Suarez.
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[Sideshow Bob]

good stuff! fantastic to see (read about) guidetti back on the pitch and picking up where he left off. could he make an appearance for the 1st team or be off on loan soon?

[Blue Stu]

I wish they'd show these matches live via City TV, there's loads who'd watch them. (Maybe it's a gentle nudge to get more people attending though)

[Blue Stu]

I don't want to steal Chinners' thunder but the match has just finished. Looks like he might have had to work or whatever. Final score was 3-1 to us, Reading scored to make it 2-1 with around 17 mins left to be played - Rusnak got our third with something like 6 mins left to be played.

[Blue Stu]

Let's see if this will work - action shot courtesy of #MCFC, Guidetti in action in the first half:

[bobby brows]

I don't want to steal Chinners' thunder but the match has just finished. Looks like he might have had to work or whatever. Final score was 3-1 to us, Reading scored to make it 2-1 with around 17 mins left to be played - Rusnak got our third with something like 6 mins left to be played.

cheers for that Stu

[mr_nool]

Let's see if this will work - action shot courtesy of #MCFC, Guidetti in action in the first half:

Looks like he's put on a couple of pounds. Nice to see him back on the pitch, though!

[Blue Stu]

Match report is out, by @markbooth_mcfc on the official site
http://www.mcfc.co.uk/News/Match-report ... nuary-2013

John Guidetti made a goalscoring return to action in his first City appearance for 18 months to get the Blues’ 2013 off to a winning start.

Following his nine-month lay-off with a knee injury and season-long loan at Feyenoord, Guidetti was making his first appearance in a City shirt since July 2011 and the Swedish striker marked his comeback in style at a bitterly cold Regional Athletics Stadium.

City’s FA Youth Cup heroes Marcos Lopes and Jose Angel Pozo took their places in the line-up along with Dedryck Boyata who recently returned from a six-month loan spell at FC Twente.

City EDS finished in sixth position in National Group Three before Christmas, so were placed in Qualification Tier Two alongside the Royals who were the first opposition of 2013 for Lombardo’s side.

Guidetti couldn’t have made a much more immediate impact, sliding in a Marcos Lopes cross at the back post on nine minutes to announce his return to the fold.

It was a simple finish but his movement demonstrated the kind of predatory instincts that have become synonymous with the Swede.

The Blues doubled their advantage just five minutes later through Pozo, and Lopes was once again the architect, sliding in an incisive pass which the Spaniard controlled well and fired a shot which cannoned off a defender and looped over the keeper.

Reading almost halved the deficit immediately through Nick Arnold but the full-back fired into the side netting after a neat counter-attack from the visitors.

Lombardo’s decision to field Pozo in a central position off Guidetti meant that Denis Suarez was playing in a deeper role than he’s typically deployed in and the 19-year old was excellent as City's metronome, lending the ball to teammates and showcasing his extensive passing range.

Reading opted for damage limitation for the rest of the half, closing ranks in a bid to keep a rampant City side on a tight leash.

Devante Cole replaced Guidetti at half-time after a fitness-boosting 45 minutes but there was danger at the other end two minutes after the restart, with a blistering drive from Gunnarsson requiring an excellent save from Eirik Johansen to preserve City’s two-goal advantage.

The game has opened up and there was a flurry of chances at both ends around the hour mark, when Ryan Edwards cracked a shot against the post for the visitors, while Pozo and Lopes both missed one-on-one opportunities.

With Reading pressing on in a bid to halve the deficit, the third goal in this game would set the tone for the remaining minutes and it was the visitors who got it, courtesy of Lawson D’Ath’s back post finish after 75 minutes.

All of a sudden with 15 to play, a game that City had bossed was hanging in the balance but the Reading resistance was finally finished off after 85 minutes when Albert Rusnak fired a fine strike across Henly to make sure of the points.

A first league win since 24th August and a real shot in the arm for the rest of 2013.

[Ted Hughes]

Nice 1 Stu.

Deighted for Guidetti.

Just had look on the OS & am also delighted that, amongst so much quality, Mancini Jr managed to get a few minutes at the end. Wouldn't want to waste that honour on some snot nosed, talented, kid from our academy.

[Douglas Higginbottom]

good stuff! fantastic to see (read about) guidetti back on the pitch and picking up where he left off. could he make an appearance for the 1st team or be off on loan soon?

In a word NO. I agree though great to see him playing and scoring.That showed he still has the natural instincts and desire to score goals but his is way off being fit enough for full games I would say never mind a loan move or City first team.

Strange match this as we went two up fairly early but throughout the first half it didn't feel to me that we were worth a 2 goal lead. Reading had plenty of the ball and a few decent situations without scoring.Our first was a very well taken free kick from lopes and Guidetti just didn't give it up and squeezed it in at the far post.Then it was Lopes again who found Pozo in between defenders.His first touch was good and shot might have been going in but was deflected over the keeper.

Reading pressed hard and squeezed high in the 2nd half and looked likely to score.They did hit the post when we were all over the place but the goal came when Boyata was tackled with a bit of a lunge.Maybe worse than Vinnie's but the ref thought it was ok and they just went forward and scored while he was out of position.While Reading were having plenty of the ball and looking threatening we did have 3 great chances.

One on ones for Lopes and then Pozo but the keeper saved both and then a left footer from Lopes from about 15 yards which the keeper turned away.The 3rd goal ended the game and was from a perfect pass from Lopes ( 3 assists) to Ruznak who finished with a perfect cross shot.All in all a good result, a decent performance but I do think it shows why we are in the 2nd tier of this under 21 competition.That's not because we are rubbish but more down to how young we are.

Yes we had Boyata and for a half Guidetti but many of the others are very young and it showed.Lopes,Pozo,Evans,Ntcham,Facey,Leigh,Rekik,Cole,Suarez.

[Swales4ever]

Cheers Stu and Sir DH for reporting.

Doug,
loan aside, which I agree would make sense, what do You make of a reasonable time for Guidetti to hit match fitness at 1st team level?

[Douglas Higginbottom]

Cheers Stu and Sir DH for reporting.

Doug,
loan aside, which I agree would make sense, what do You make of a reasonable time for Guidetti to hit match fitness at 1st team level?

Being the pessimist that I naturally am I could see it being next year! The virus problem he had I believe was very serious so it's inevitable it will take a long time but I wouldn't know whether there are any lingering effects say on stamina.I would guess he isn't ready for a loan but I could be wrong there and maybe that will happen and he could be close to "back" in 6 to 8 weeks.

[Chinners]

Good work, great result

[Swales4ever]

Cheers Stu and Sir DH for reporting.

Doug,
loan aside, which I agree would make sense, what do You make of a reasonable time for Guidetti to hit match fitness at 1st team level?

Being the pessimist that I naturally am I could see it being next year! The virus problem he had I believe was very serious so it's inevitable it will take a long time but I wouldn't know whether there are any lingering effects say on stamina.I would guess he isn't ready for a loan but I could be wrong there and maybe that will happen and he could be close to "back" in 6 to 8 weeks.

so that, if You were the manager, You wouldn't see a point in giving him a run on the last quarter of a 1st team game in, say, 3 month?
Generally speaking, I agree on careful approach and seriousness of the muscles distress.

[Blue Stu]

I can't remember who said it, I think maybe Bob himself, but Guidetti is basically in preseason - so the fact he can do half a game at match intensity is extremely encouraging. His layoff was longer than a typical summer though, but he's young and full of 'bouncebackability'. Selfishly I want to see him eased into the first team but sensibly I would predict several more EDS appearances to gauge his stamina and produce more data for our backroom boys, then a short loan spell (hopefully in the Prem). Having said that, what do I know?