Robert Taylor watched in agony at Wembley last season as his Gillingham team
lost on penalties to Manchester City in the Division Two play-off final.
Nearly 12 months later on a marvellous Maine Road night, Taylor scored the
goal which put City on the brink of the Premiership.
City hung on to his first half goal with all the tenacity they could muster
against a battling Birmingham side who needed the points themselves to be sure
of a place in the play-offs.
Now City must turn their attentions to Ipswich's visit to champions Charlton
tomorrow. It is simple: if Ipswich don't win then Joe Royle's boys are back in
the top flight - four years after they last left it for a nightmare journey to
Division Two and the point of financial disaster.
City's players were introduced to a delirious mass of fans at the end and all
the signs are that the party is only just beginning in Manchester.
The heroes had been Spencer Prior at the back, Richard Jobson and the brave,
tenacious Danny Tiatto. But Taylor will not forget this night in a hurry.
He has had a tough time since arriving in November, and his goal was only his
fifth for City. But he could well have paid off a large slice of that £1.5m
transfer fee with his first half strike.
Manchester City, their expectant fans at breaking point even before the start,
struggled to handle the pressures early on, and it was the Midlanders who coped
best.
They were quicker in midfield, dominant at the back and had the pace on the
wings and from Dele Adebola and Paul Furlong to stretch and worry City's back
line.
The hosts, though, should have scored inside 40 seconds. Richard Edghill's
long ball in from the right was poorly headed away by Darren Purse with his
goalkeeper Thomas Myhre just behind him on the edge of the box.
The ball flew across the area for Jeff Whitley to run in a head over an open
goal.
Birmingham took the initiative after that as their hosts struggled to for a
foothold in the match, being dictated by Bryan Hughes and Martin O'Connor.
And, predictably, with both sides so dependent on tall, competitive strikers,
the ball spent a long time being pumped around in the air.
Manchester City had a confident appeal for a penalty turned down after 14
minutes when Taylor's cross from the left looked to be controlled by Purse with
his arm, but referee Alan Butler waved play on.
Birmingham continued to play the better football, and after 35 minutes a
Michael Johnson cross from the right flicked off Richard Jobson's head and
Furlong stretched to head wide.
A minute later Taylor was sent on a run through the middle, and as he fell
under a challenge from David Holdsworth, Shaun Goater chipped inches wide from
the edge of the box.
But five minutes from the break the home side broke the deadlock. Kevin
Horlock's free kick was headed down in the six yard box by Jobson, and Taylor
lashed it home on the volley.
The second period was just as fraught, with City pushing forward to try to
seal things. Furlong was booked for a foul on Danny Tiatto, and Shaun Goater
nearly got a touch to another Jobson header in the six yard box.
But Birmingham were constantly dangerous on the break, and when Nicky Weaver
spilled an Adebola shot on 58 minutes, Edghill produced a heroic saving tackle a
couple of yards out.
Chances, though, were few and far between. Gerard Wiekens missed one after 70
minutes when a corner was not cleared properly, the Dutch midfielder driving a
shot over the bar from 12 yards.
Taylor could have wrapped it up three minutes later when Goater's flick put
him clean through. But as he raced towards the penalty area, Myhre came out to
make a fine block, leaving the City man holding his head in his hands.
Those last minutes were an eternity for City's fans, referee Butler adding on
four minutes, much of it for time-wasting, and somehow City forced themselves to
the whistle - and almost back to the promised land.
Teams:
Man City: Weaver, Edghill, Prior, Tiatto, Jobson, Wiekens,
Horlock (Pollock 88), J. Whitley, Kennedy (Granville 84),
Goater, R. Taylor (Dickov 85).
Subs Not Used: Bishop, Wright.
Goals: R. Taylor 40.
Birmingham: Myhre, Rowett, Holdsworth, Purse, M. Johnson,
Hughes, McCarthy (A. Johnson 64), O'Connor, Lazaridis,
Furlong (Ndlovu 77), Adebola.
Subs Not Used: Hyde, Charlton, Gill.
Booked: Furlong.
Att: 32,062
Ref: A Butler (Sutton-in-Ashfield).
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