Adebayor on target as City see off Pompey
Reuters - Sunday 31 January 2010, 17:00
Emmanuel Adebayor marked his
return to the Premier League, after Togo's traumatic time at the
African Nations Cup, with the opening goal in Manchester City's
2-0 win over Portsmouth at Eastlands on Sunday.
Adebayor, who survived the gun attack on Togo's team bus
that killed two members of their delegation before the start of
this month's tournament, looked offside before he lashed the
ball past keeper David James after 39 minutes.
Vincent Kompany headed the second in stoppage time at the
end of the first half to put City 2-0 ahead against
cash-strapped, bottom-of-the-table Pompey who remain on 15
points, five adrift of Burnley and Hull City.
"We were a little tired after Wednesday's (League Cup) match
against Manchester United," Manchester City manager Roberto
Mancini told the BBC.
"In the first half we did not play well, we did not move the
ball quickly and were too slow when we lost possession. The
clean sheet is important but it was more important that we won
today."
CITY SIXTH
The victory lifted Mancini's men to sixth above Aston Villa,
keeping the race for fourth spot and the last Champions League
qualifying berth as intense as the race for the title.
Tottenham Hotspur are fourth with 42 points from 24 matches
followed by Liverpool (41 from 24), City (41 from 22) and Villa
(40 from 23).
Chelsea lead the table with 54 points from 23 games, ahead
of Manchester United and Arsenal who meet at the Emirates
Stadium later on Sunday.
After an opening period when Portsmouth more than matched
their hosts, the game turned City's way when Adebayor netted on
his first league appearance since Dec. 16.
Kompany nodded the second from a Martin Petrov corner and
Carlos Tevez hit the post for the home side late in the game.
"They (City) were not the better team," said Pompey manager
Avram Grant. "The first goal was in my opinion offside while the
second was from a foul after a push on Tal Ben Haim.
"Their goalkeeper was more busy than our keeper. I was
impressed with the players, the performance was better."