Manchester City 1 0 Bolton Wanderers

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Manchester City 1 0 Bolton Wanderers

The Premier League season finished on a bright note for the Blues, after an early Felipe Caicedo goal settled a decidedly lacklustre contest against Bolton. If ever there was a meaningle s end of season encounter, then this was it as the visitors were depre singly poor, whilst City, who finish the campaign in tenth place, sixteen points off the relegation places that they briefly occupied around the Christmas period, rarely failed to get out of first gear, threatening sporadically.There were a couple of more exciting moments, most notably the long awaited debut ofGluber Leandro Honorato Berti, who, after making 20 unused substitute appearances, finally played in a City shirt, coming on for the final five minutes. His introduction received the loudest ovationof the afternoon, whilst his every touch, all seven of them, not forgetting a throw-in, was afforded the ever entertainingcheer of Ole! Michael Jordan Jersey By my calculations, the Blues faithful have had to wait 267 days before seeing the man, the myth and the legend, but his introduction made the whole season worthwhile. There was also a promising cameo from another debutant, Slovakian youngster Vladimir Wei s, of whom there are high expectations for the future.Bolton end the season in mid-table security, lying in a respectable thirteenth position,a place which Im sure they would have accepted had it been offered to them before the campaign commenced. For the Blues, there were sporadic moments of brilliance, most notably from Robinho, and they ended this season with a sliver of history, becoming the first side since the mid 1960s to go through an entire Premier Leaguecampaign without recording a home draw. Citys form at Eastlands has been excellent in general, recording thirteen victories, but it is their away form which has cost them dearly, having won just two matches on their travels.Mark Hughes applauds Nicky Delmonico Jersey the City fans for their support throughout the seasonTeam NewsThere was a surprise inclusion in the City line-up, with influential winger Shaun Wright-Phillips named in the side despite needing knee surgery which will keep him out for a while. Mark Hughes declared after the match that the medical instructions meant that SWP was allowed to play in this match and if he felt no reaction afterwards, then the operation could be avoided, so for Englands sake, it is hoped that SWP feels fit enough to partake in their crucial qualifying matches.There was only one other change to the side whch was defeated by Tottenham in the previous match, with Robinho returning in place of Martin Petrov. There was no place on the pitch or on the bench for Brazilian maestro Elano, who was apparently injured, and it remains to be seen whether he has played his last game for the Blues. Thankfully, it looks like Swi s footballer Gelson Fernandess career in Manchester has finished, with no sign of the worlds most usele s person at the stadium.Bolton kept faith with the misfiring striker Johan Elmander, who, it turned out, was an even bigger waste of money than Afonso Alves at Middlesborough. The powerful Bo Jackson Jersey Kevin Davies, who has been named as the dirtiest player in the Premier League four out of the past five season (he came second in the other year), was stationed on the right-wing, presumably to exploit the deficiencies of Wayne Bridge, whilst despite the return to fitne s of Andy OBrien, Gary Megson, once a player at City, kept faith with the wonderfully named Danny Shittu in central defence.We have hopefully seen the last of Gelson Goldfish FernandesCity Line-Up (4-2-3-1) GivenRichards Dunne Onuoha Bridge de Jong KompanySWP IrelandRobinho CaicedoSubs: Hart, Zabaleta, BERTI, Wei s, Petrov, Benjani, BojinovReportThere was a near capacity crowd at the City of Manchester Stadium, many, including me,carrying with them the now infamous inflatable bananas. Despite the obvious attractions of a plethora of other matches, most notably the games in the relegation dogfight, this was a very healthy attendance, one which just outlines the fantastic support of the City faithful.There was a party atmosphere at the ground, with five of the heroes from Wembley 99, Paul Bruce Rondon Jersey Dickov, Gerard Wiekens, Gareth Taylor, Tony Vaughan and Andy Morrison, all introduced onto the pitch before the match started. Back to the action, and it didnt take long for the Blues to begin the party in earnest. Gretar Stein son fouled Robinho around 25 yards out, and with the free-kick in a prime shooting position, the whole stadium expected a Brazilian effort. But instead, in a move clearly rehearsed on the training ground, Robinho laid the ball off to Stephen Ireland, who in turn found Micah Richards and his overhead kick was turned into the back of the net by Felipe Caicedo for his eighth goal of the campaign. It was notable that all the coaching staff immediately ran over to celebrate with a sistant manager Mark Bowen, who must have been influential in this goal.Felipe Caicedo celebrates his goal against BoltonCity continued to pre s and the ever-consistent Ju si Jaaskelainen denied Shaun Wright-Phillips with a tremendous save following the wingers 30 yard effort. Bolton were pushing forward themselves and Johan Elmander, who was perhaps one of the worst players Ive seen on an opposing team this season, failed to turn home Stein sons tantalising cro s.Just before the half-hour mark,Caicedo wenton a lung-bursting run, using his terrifying pace to leave MattTaylor seemingly treading on treacle, before cro sing the ball to Stephen Ireland. The player of the year laid the ball back to the edge of the box, where Robinho was ready to shoot. Unfortunately for the Blues, the Brazilians shot cannoned off the upright with Jaaskelainen stranded, which meant that the score remained 1 0.Robinho nearly added to his goal tally, but his shot hit the postMicah Richards was in the thick of the action moments later as first, his shot after a sublime Yolmer Sanchez Jersey piece of Robinho trickery, an overhead kick whilst lying down, was parried away, before he cleared Gary Cahills goal-bound shot off the line after a weak Shay Given punch. Half-time came and went with no substitutions, and as the last 45 minutes of action all season were coming up, the question on everybodys lips was
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