Welcome to the first in a series of nostalgic match reports
Division 1, February 2000, The City Ground, Forest 1 – 3 City.
City travelled across The Peak District to Nottingham to face a Forest side intent on interrupting their promotion push. The City side that day in the East Midlands included the likes of Bob Taylor, Jeff Whitley and Richard Jobson.
Forest were a mid table side at best after suffering relegation from the Premier League the previous season. They were in the process of rebuilding following the Pierre Van Hooijdonk debacle only twelve months earlier.
At that time as a student you could get a ticket from Nottingham Trent University for a fiver. The downside was that it was a home ticket and it required silence sitting amongst a mixture of regular home fans and people who had turned up just because City were the draw that season.
Sat in silence I was when Chris Bart Williams opened the scoring after only nine minutes leading to what appeared to be the eruption of the entire ground.
This was to be City’s day however as the talents of Goater, Kennedy and Bishop started to show why City were eyeing the title. Wearing the classic ‘middle badge’ Eidos shirt, Bob Taylor scored the equalizer after thirty one minutes to silence the home fans and the hangers on.
Things got even better only four minutes later when The Goat popped up to score another to put City two one up going in at half time. Not to be out done by his strike partner Goater bagged another in the eighty third minute to send the City fans into celebration and cause the Trent End to begin to empty.
Forest were overwhelmed by City that day and the blues were simply too good for them. It was easy to see the confidence in the players who would go on to gain promotion that season.
Grant Mills
@mancinismarvels
No comments:
Post a Comment