FC Copenhagen 2 Manchester City 2:WITH SNOW swirling and temperatures plummeting well below zero, Manchester City fans of a certain generation might have turned their minds to one of their more celebrated matches of the 1960s when a snowbound 4-1 thrashing of Tottenham Hotspur became known as the Ballet on Ice. This, however, would not be an evening for the modern-day City to recreate some of the old magic.
Mark Hughes’s players produced some slick, penetrative football but, ultimately, this was to be a frustrating night for a City side who veer far too much from looking wonderfully inventive to dangerously vulnerable.
Stephen Ireland’s 61st-minute goal ought really to have given City their fifth victory out of six foreign excursions this season and established them as overwhelming favourites to progress to the last 16 in the return leg in Manchester next Thursday.
Instead, Robinho, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Craig Bellamy all wasted good chances to extend their lead and, in stoppage time, Copenhagen substitute Martin Vingaard headed in a debut goal to level the tie.
It was a harsh lesson for City in terms of killing off a match even if Hughes’s side did benefit from an enormous slice of good fortune when an astonishing mistake from the goalkeeper, Jesper Christiansen, allowed Nedum Onuoha to open the scoring.
Christiansen, a three-time Danish goalkeeper of the year, may never have a more embarrassing moment on a football field throughout the rest of his career.
The 30-year-old was playing only because the club’s new signing, Johan Wiland, who had played in this competition with Elfsborg, was ineligible. His new employers were made to regret it when Ireland’s clever pass sent Onuoha bearing down on goal and Christiansen had what students of goalkeeping demonology will know as a Gary Sprake moment.
Onuoha, a centre-half, had scored only once before in his professional career and was in the Copenhagen half only because City had a free-kick within range of the penalty area. His shot lacked any kind of natural confidence and was side-footed straight at Christiansen.
It was such a simple save, indeed, that Bellamy had already started remonstrating with Onuoha for not squaring the ball to him. But then everything seemed to go into slow-motion as the ball squirmed beneath Christiansen’s body and trickled over the goalline so slowly it did not even reach the net.
For all their good fortune, City deserved to go into the interval with the lead with their attacking quartet of Robinho, Ireland, Wright-Phillips and Bellamy linking up well.
Bellamy, in particular, looked effective when he was refraining from running offside and Robinho put in an improved performance on the kind of freezing night when football cliche suggests Brazilians usually go awol.
There was a sense of irony about the way the opening goal arrived bearing in mind that, after 15 minutes, Shay Given could have been the one waving an apologetic hand. City’s goalkeeper had come out to collect a corner but misjudged the trajectory of the ball and dropped what should have been a routine catch. He was fortunate that none of the Copenhagen players nearby was alert enough to punish his mistake.
The disappointing part for Hughes was the defending from his players when Alton Almeida headed Copenhagen level straight from a corner. Wright-Phillips did well to fire in a low centre from the right wing and the ball came to Ireland 10 yards from goal. His right-foot shot was emphatic for his 10th goal of the season.
FC COPENHAGEN: Christiansen, Pospech, Laursen, Antonsson, Wendt, Kvist (Vingaard 60), Kristensen, Norregaard (Gronkjaer 70), Hutchinson, Almeida, Santin (Ndoye 59). Subs Not Used: Coe, Niclas Jensen, Nordstrand, Jorgensen.
MAN CITY: Given, Onuoha, Richards, Dunne, Bridge, Zabaleta, Kompany, Ireland, Wright-Phillips, Robinho (Caicedo 89), Bellamy. Subs Not Used: Hart, Elano, Vassell, Garrido, Evans, Weiss. Booked: Bellamy, Richards.
Ref: Pavel Kralovec (Czech Republic).
