UEFA Cup Semi Final Result Man City 2 Hamburg 1 (aggregate 3-4)

UEFA Cup Semi Final Result Man City 2 Hamburg 1 (aggregate 3-4)

Manchester City started with great spirit and determination, with their awesome fans making the right noise for this UEFA Cup tie. It was Guerrero that in the 12th minute tried to ruin the Eastlands party on the break with a cool finish to make it 1-0 to Hamburg.

Ireland, Elano and Robinho definitely gelled in the first half with slick passing moves getting them into the right areas to push on. Elano scored the equaliser as a result of a handball in the Hamburg box, the Man City forward finished emphatically to get the home team to 2-4 on aggregate.

It was Elano who threatened Hamburg again in the first half with a spectacular 20+ yard free kick, which ricocheted violently against the cross bar sending the ball away from goal. All in all, a good half but boss Mark Hughes will be desperate for the goals.
City started the second half well and then moved up a gear to made when Caicedo made it 2-1 with a neat bit of manoeuvring to get himself a bit of space to coolly steer the ball into the bottom left corner.
Then...unbelievable – Elano hits the word work yet again. This time he rattles the post with a Beckham type free kick that just curled a fraction too much; it left the ‘keeper standing like a spectator. Man City kept piling on the pressure, Caicedo skied the ball from point blank range, Robinho came close also as the home team bossed the game in an attractive, attacking manner. Caicedo was then correctly judged to have been in an offside position when he dribbled around the Hamburg keeper and put it into the net.

Captain Richard Dunne plays the game hard, after riding his luck in the first half received a second yellow card which knocked the stuffing out of Man City. Instantly Hamburg soaked up more possession and created some decent chances.

Micah Richards had a pretty decent chance from a rampage from his right back position, the England defender played upfront for the last 5 but it wasn’t enough and its Hamburg that clinch the UEFA Cup semi final spot.

As a Spurs supporter, I did feel a little chuffed for the well liked Martin Jol – a real gentleman of football who in my opinion can get success at the highest level.