City stunned by late leveller

City's winless run continues thanks to substitute McDonald

Last updated: 7th November 2009   Subscribe to RSS Feed

City stunned by late leveller

Burnley claim surprise 3-3 draw

Man of the Match: Graham Alexander
The Burnley captain opened the scoring and epitomised everything good about Burnley's play.

Goal of the Match: Steven Fletcher
He was often isolated up front, but he scored one and assisted Burnley's late leveller.

Disappointment of the Match: Emmanuel Adebayor
The Togo ace was simply not at the races. Lacked movement and did not look up for the fight.

Moment of the Match: Kevin McDonald
The substitute secured a last-gasp share of the spoils in a six-goal thriller at Eastlands.

Gaffe of the Match: Joleon Lescott
Defenders know jumping with arms in the air is dangerous, especially in the penalty area. Silly foul to concede.

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Substitute Kevin McDonald's 87th minute equaliser ensured Manchester City's winless run continued as Burnley claimed a 3-3 Premier League draw at Eastlands.

Although City started brightly, Burnley took the lead through Graham Alexander's penalty after Joleon Lescott handled Tyrone Mears' right-wing cross.

The Clarets doubled their advantage through Steven Fletcher's close-range effort before Shaun Wright-Phillips raised spirits on the stroke of half-time with a deflected effort.

City raised their game after the interval and levelled matters when Lescott touched Gareth Barry's free-kick back across goal for Kolo Toure to stab home with the goal at his mercy.

The home side gave themselves the lead for the first time soon after when Wright-Phillips' cross was guided home by the lively Craig Bellamy just before the hour mark.

City looked more likely to add a fourth late on rather than Burnley grabbing an equaliser, but out of nothing substitute David Nugent picked out Fletcher and his cross was tucked away by McDonald.

Purpose

It was with a sense of purpose that Alexander drilled home the penalty after Lescott had handled Mears' right-wing cross.

Any sense that was a fluke was quickly exposed, as was Wayne Bridge's defending, when Fletcher doubled the visitors' lead.

Bridge has not quite delivered since his £10million move from Chelsea last January and speculation suggests Hughes has not abandoned the idea of bringing in a replacement.

Certainly a video of Burnley's second will not be on any showreel for the England international, who found himself upfield and totally helpless as Robbie Blake's quick free-kick opened up City.

Of the three men who filled the left-back area, Bridge was supposed to be patrolling, it was Chris Eagles who received the ball. Fletcher's run was timed to perfection and the cross made his finish easy.

Few of City's expensive recruits were impressing. Wright-Phillips was one and it was no surprise he was the man who struck two minutes before the break, his shot flicking off former City defender Stephen Jordan to raise hopes of a successful second-half comeback.

Within 13 minutes the seeds of a revival had reached full bloom, Burnley's marking coming under question on both occasions.

City ahead

First Lescott got behind Clarke Carlisle at the far post to reach a Barry free-kick and steer it into Toure's path.

The City skipper was coming in as Burnley's defenders were rushing out. The ensuing tap-in was simplicity itself.

City's third was not quite a replica but the cross from Wright-Phillips, who had been sent galloping into the box by Stephen Ireland, was from the same side.

And Bellamy was also in oceans of space as he fired home the fifth goal of a very impressive season.

The Welshman set up Carlos Tevez as Burnley struggled to cope but the Argentina star was off target as he arrived at pace and tried to turn the ball home.

When Adebayor just failed to reach Martin Petrov's cross there was a sense Burnley would have one last opportunity to salvage themselves. McDonald did not let his team down.

Manchester CityTeam StatisticsBurnley
3Goals3
11st Half Goals2
7Shots on Target4
5Shots off Target3
3Blocked Shots1
8Corners3
12Fouls11
7Offsides1
1Yellow Cards3
0Red Cards0
71.3Passing Success69.9
26Tackles14
76.9Tackles Success57.1
52.8Possession47.2
50Territorial Advantage50

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