Sheffield United - 0 Manchester City - 1:When Georgios Samaras hammered a gilt-edged chance out for a throw-in five minutes after coming on as substitute, it seemed merely another moment to forget in his troubled Manchester City career.
How quickly things can change. Moments later the Greek was heading a certain goal off his line before advancing to the opposite end of the field to set up the winner, his superb chest control allowing Stephen Ireland to rifle a low, powerful shot beyond Paddy Kenny.
Samaras will have to do much more to convince City's fans that he is worth the £6 million the club spent to bring him to Manchester in January, but his contribution yesterday at least provided Stuart Pearce with some breathing space.
The City manager has come under pressure amid a poor run of results, but a second league victory away from home in the Premiership this season means he can look forward to the remainder of the festive period.
With Arsenal visiting Bramall Lane on Saturday, Neil Warnock will struggle to do the same. His side were unfortunate here, and a second successive defeat of the holiday programme leaves them two points above the relegation zone.
But for all their energy there is a lack of quality. Phil Jagielka impressed in midfield and Stephen Quinn worked tirelessly on the left, but unless Rob Hulse scores it is difficult to see where a goal will come from.
City also have their problems in that department, and few travelling fans would have expected Ireland to deliver yesterday. It was the 18-year-old's first Premiership goal.
"We have been trying to encourage him for a number of years to be more selfish," said Pearce.
"He tends to pass when he could shoot. Once he becomes a bit more selfish and says, 'I want to be a part of the Premiership scene', a player might flourish."
Pearce was was not so happy with Ireland's team-mates.
Having arrived with an attacking 3-5-2 formation, City spent much of the afternoon defending in numbers. "I was pleased with our resilience but not pleased with the performance and I've told all the players that," he said.
"The players showed a resilience to scrap and that's what got us a result."
Guardian Service
