CITY 2 PRESTON 2: Frustrating end to exciting game

Went up market last night, watched the City from my mates seat in the Grandstand, he could not make it so he gave me his season ticket for the game against Preston North End. Fairplay, he has one of the best views in the ground, smack on the half way line, if the line were extended it would run between his legs. Possibly the best view of any game I have ever been to!

The draw back is that it is the Grandstand, a section of the ground not renowned for its atmosphere. No singing, no shouting, not even any swearing.

This was only the third time I have ever sat in the grandstand. The first time was Rotherham United in 1973, one of only two games I ever attended with me dad. The other game I attended with me dad was the first game of the 1973/74 season, City V Sunderland. At the time I was young and foolish and supported Leeds United, my dad thought it would be a treat for me to see the team that had just beat Leeds in the 1973 FA cup final. Actually that Sunderland game was the only time I ever sat in the Canton Stand.

Anyway, last night. As far as I could tell, it did not stop raining at all throughout the entire game. I was quite impressed that the pitch did not cut up. It was quite an exciting game, end to end for most of the 90 minutes. City went one nil up with a bit of a scrambled goal after a botched free kick, Joe Ledley getting his name on the score sheet. They held that lead for quite a while, but Preston managed to equalise. City went in front again with a cracking Jason Koumas free kick (the picture at the top of this post), but Preston managed to scramble back an equaliser in the 90th minute.

There must have been four corners and two free kicks, all in City's favour, in injury time, but despite the manic last five minutes, we only came away with the one point. No matter, that one point took us up to 8th place with a game in hand, better than at any time last season before we had to sell off our 'star' players. The guy on the radio announced that if we had won we would have been up to the play off places... frightening, this current team would get torn to shreds in the Premiership.

Then out into the never ending rain to meet up with Nipper and the rest of the riff raff from the bob bank for a lift home. All in all, not a bad way to spend a wet Tuesday evening.

Picture... if you look carefully you can see the ball streaking into the net following being wallopped by Jason Koumas