An injury-time equaliser robbed 10-man Manchester City of a remarkable victory
on an astonishing night at Maine Road.
Substitute Steve Jones rose to head home his second goal of the game to
salvage a point for the Londoners, who would have moved up to second in the
First Division had they won.
Two minutes earlier City defender Kit Symons had launched himself at a Georgi
Kinkladze free-kick to power home what every City fan believed would be the
winner.
The Welsh international had played most of the match with blood pouring from
his nose and looked like becoming the hero.
But it was his slip in the box at the other end that allowed Mark Bright to
cross for Jones to crash his equaliser past City goalkeeper Tommy Wright.
The Maine Road fans witnessed another remarkable match as, fresh from the FA
Cup defeat by West Ham after Uwe Rosler's penalty bloomer on Sunday, this league
clash had the lot.
There was a dodgy penalty, a goalkeeper taken off at the break with concussion
and then a sending off.
Charlton played the entire second half with defender Steve Brown in goal as
Mike Salmon had failed to emerge after the break.
Salmon had cracked his head against a post in the first half and the
advantage, you would have thought, should have been gratefully capitalised on by
City.
But they toiled to create a serious opening to test the stand-in keeper and
then lost their new Georgian defender Murtaz Shelia when he was dismissed for a
second bookable offence in the 70th minute.
City, leading through an early Paul Dickov penalty, were now on the rack and
four minutes after the sending off the promotion chasers were level.
The hosts' perilous league position - just one place above the relegation zone
- did nothing for their nerves.
They looked fragile and fearful against their third-placed opponents, who are
one of the best organised sides in the division.
City got that lifeline of a penalty after just seven minutes when Rosler was
brought down by Richard Rufus. This time the German declined to take the
spot-kick and Dickov stepped up to drill it home.
City held that lead until the break and when Salmon failed to appear for the
second half they must surely have believed luck was finally going to be on their
side.
But after Shelia's dismissal Jones crashed home a spectacular goal to pull
Charlton level just four minutes after the tough defender's exit.
From then on it was pure theatre. First Symons thought he had won it but right
at the death Jones popped up to grab that point.
Teams
Man City: Wright, Brightwell, Shelia, Brown, Symons, Edghill,
Whitley, Russell (Van Blerk 65), Dickov (Crooks 75), Kinkladze,
Rosler (Bradbury 75).
Sent Off: Shelia (70).
Booked: Brightwell.
Goals: Dickov 7 pen, Symons 88.
Charlton: Salmon (S. Jones 45), Brown, Bowen, K. Jones, Rufus,
Chapple, Newton (Barness 42), Kinsella, Holmes, Allen, Bright.
Subs Not Used: Balmer.
Booked: K. Jones.
Goals: S. Jones 74, 90.
Att: 24,058
Ref: P R Richards (Preston).
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