North Village 0

Manchester City Youth Academy 6

Visiting Manchester City Youth Academy closed out their two-match series with a convincing 6-0 win over a young North Village outfit at the National Sports Centre last night.

Two clinical first-half strikes from the boot of Carl Birmingham, a powerful Paul Murphy far post header and additional second-half tallies from Leighton Slack, Steve Ireland and a superb solo, last-minute effort by Carlos Logan saw City cap off another entertaining display of football before a crowd of 1,700.

Though the magic wasn't always apparent, Shaun Goater provided those on hand with glimpses of the form that has made him a City hero over the past five seasons as he turned out for his former local club.

It was a pity that Kevin Keegan, the City boss, wasn't on hand to witness the early play as Goater and Ralph Bean Jr combined almost as if they had been playing together all along. The talented pair combined during a rare Village first-half raid in the 14th minute when Goater supplied Bean with a free look at goal with a lofted delivery over the City defence. As Bean attempted to pick his corner, it appeared as if the player was shoved from behind inside the penalty box. But referee Lyndon Raynor figured otherwise, despite near deafening pleas from the crowd.

Seconds later, Bean repaid the lanky striker with a through ball which breached the City defence but Goater's first-time effort was blocked.

That proved to be the closest Goater would come to scoring and in the 29th minute the player came off the pitch to a rousing ovation from his home fans.

Devonshire Cougars' player LoVintz Tota was introduced into the City attack and almost immediately made an impact on the match with a glancing header that trickled wide.

Tota then had another effort blocked during the latter stages of the first half before the talented player prompted the City bench to their feet with a spectacular acrobatic scissors kick that whistled just wide of the post.

The player was then substituted shortly after and was deservedly serenaded off the pitch by the crowd.

Birmingham opened City's account in the 22nd minute after he was first to react to a high through ball which caught the Village defence napping at the back. The City player effortlessly lobbed an onrushing Zane Hendrickson with a deft chip into the far corner of the net.

Ten minutes later, the future City prospect struck again in similar fashion with another lob after the Village defence suffered a mental lapse and he was unfortunate not to grab a hat-trick when Hendrickson pulled off a superb save. Hendrickson appeared shaken after the play but soldiered on.

Murphy then made it 3-0 right on the stroke of half-time with a powerful header at the back post after he rose above the Village defence.

Village made several changes in the second half with guest player Damon Ming adding some bite to the local side's attack.

However, City extended their lead to four in the 60th minute when Slack scored the goal of the night. The player planted a crisp left-footed half volley into the net on the turn just outside the penalty area as Village again paid the price for poor marking.

Ireland then rifled a shot home from close range four minutes later while Logan completed the rout on the stroke of full-time with an excellent solo run down the left side that culminated with a near post drive eluding Village 'keeper Daniel Johnson, who executed two outstanding saves late in the match to keep things . . . well sort of respectable.

"That was the first time that I've done any activity since my last game for City at the end of the season," Goater said afterwards. "And I did feel as rusty as I looked. But it felt good to be back playing with Village. The only thing though, was that I was playing with a bunch of players who I used to play alongside their parents with."

Generally pleased by Tota's performance on the pitch was City manager, Tony Meehan.

"He (Tota) did very well tonight. He fitted in very well with us and he's a really, really lovely boy," Mehan commented. "He did some good things and we're very pleased with him and the entire team as a whole. As I previously stated, we have a great bunch of boys and we're pleased."

Manchester City's French striker Nicholas Anelka failed to show as planned at the National Sports Centre last night.

The City forward was reportedly held back by US customs officials in Miami.

Anelka was scheduled to hand out the prizes for the eventual winners of the junior schools penalty shoot-out prior to the start of last night's feature match.

Saltus Grammar School were the eventual winners and received their reward - full City match kits - from Premier Jennifer Smith during a half-time presentation.

"Mr.Anelka was having problems with his passport in Miami and unfortunately wasn't able to make it here tonight," explained City spokeswoman Julie England. "He arrived in Miami a few days ago but encountered difficulties trying to leave. But we still hope that he can arrive in time for tonight's gala banquet."