The latest episode in our series of classic reports comes from the Guardian on 3 October 1968, and reports on Manchester City's last appearance in the European Cup.
Manchester City pay for their mistakes
by Albert Barham
by Albert Barham
Survival. That's all Manchester City could play for and pray for in the second half of this noisy, excitable European Cup first round, second leg tie here tonight on the banks of the Bosphorus. But survival was not for them. In the face of almost constant attacks they conceded the crucial goal 15 minutes from time and lost 1-2.
So City are out of the European Champions' Cup at their first attempt. It was not for the want of trying. They did their best. They covered as well as they could. They defended stubbornly. But three Fenerbahce forwards were their betters. One sensed they would be from the brief glimpses seen in their attack in the goalless first leg at Maine Road.
They were Abdullah, who came on for Fuat in the second half and celebrated it with a goal within two minutes. Can, a wiry, wily outside left and Ogun, flown from halfway round the world where he is joining the Washington Whips, especially for this match. It was easy to see that his journey was worthwhile. The pressure on City was tremendous for the whole of the second half by these hard, clever and unrelenting forwards. One can sympathise with City, but they can have no excuses. There were too many mistakes around their own penalty area.
Clean and fast
By the standard one has seen elsewhere it was clean, fast and hard. Fenerbahce, thus, for the first time, progress to the second round and who could but give a wry grin as hundreds upon hundreds of bonfires on the terraces celebrated that at the end. Two goals came in the second half of this frenzied game. The first, after 47 minutes, came from Abdullah, after Ogun had squeezed the ball through a tiny gap in City's massed defence.
The second and crucial came in the seventy-fifth minute. This followed a free-kick taken by Can, which was prodded into the net by Ogun. What City could have done about it I do not know: it is too facile to berate the goalkeeper. Yet, until the second goal as the second half began, it looked for all the world as though Fenerbahce were a beaten side. They had, like many sides abroad, lost heart after conceding a simple, silly goal in the twelfth minute.
One could sense that they were almost completely resigned to defeat. Yet full credit must be given for whatever gave them new heart, new drive and new determination in the second half. Of course, the inspiration of a quick goal made all the difference. They had begun the game, as was only to be expected, in a flurry of action which was almost hysterical, and from Can's pass, Ogun put the ball into the net after six minutes. He was offside but not a Turk in the stadium – crammed to overflowing three hours before kick-off for this, Fenerbahce's greatest match – would believe this. Players jostled the referee and hustled him in the general melee, but the official stood firm. He had a similar moment of embarrassment only seconds before the crucial goal. Again it was Ogun who got the ball into the net. Again he was offside. The scene was a repeat one.
One moment of disaster for the Turks almost gave the game to City. It knocked the heart out of them for some time and it gave City the lead they had wanted so desperately. It came after twelve minutes, a goal greeted in complete and shocked silence. Lee's long, looping pass which hovered over the penalty area was the cause.
Ercan, the big, burly strong man of the defence shaped to head it back. Then he made mistakes. He decided to fox Coleman and anticipated that the ball would carry to Yavuz. It did not. Coleman, quick to spot the chance, pounced on it and as Yavuz came out to him, trying to tackle waist-high, Coleman popped the ball into the net. From then until half time the game was City's to have if they could hold it. Oakes was playing superbly and Young did great work as City fell back on defence.
But it lasted only until that shrewd move of Ignace Molnar, the Fenerbahce coach, who switched Abdullah for Fuat at half time. Summerbee ploughed a lone furrow after that. Even when the tension was relieved on City's goal, the forwards were caught time and again in an offside trap so skilfully set by the quick running forward of Sukru, Levent, Nunweiller and Ercan.
It was not City's night for all the work they did. They just did not deserve to win in the face of the second-half blitz. And at the end, the crowds invaded the pitch. Who could blame them on this, their night of nights.
