Manchester City demonstrated they can do graft as well as glamour as they beat Scunthorpe 4-2 at Glanford Park.
Robinho potentially signs off with a goal
Manchester City's stock continues to rise as they demonstrated they can do graft as well as glamour to negotiate a potential FA Cup banana skin at Scunthorpe to win 4-2 in what was an entertaining cup tie.
After claiming an advantage over neighbours United at the halfway stage of their Carling Cup semi-final in midweek, a trip to Glanford Park represented a real test of City's resilience.
And for the most part, against a tidy and ceaselessly energetic Scunthorpe side, it was a test they passed.
Talk of Robinho's reported return to Brazil with Santos dominated City's pre-match preparations but on the field there seemed to be no distractions as they raced into a lead inside three minutes.
It was the Brazilian that found Martin Petrov on the right edge of Scunthorpe's box, but thereafter it was all the Bulgarian's own work as he made himself a yard of space before unleashing a jackhammer of a left foot strike that screamed past Joe Murphy at his near post.
Rather than be cowered by City's early opener the home side seemed buoyed and twice should have found an immediate response as Cliff Byrne headed against the underside of the bar from close range, before Paul Hayes somehow failed to get a toe on Rob Jones' nod back across goal.
Hayes would not show similar profligacy with his next effort, albeit from an offside position, as he allowed Martyn Woolford's lofted ball back into the box to drop over his head before volleying a sweetly taken equaliser beyond Stuart Taylor.
An entertaining and lively contested affair conjured chances for both sides but it was City that went into the interval leading as Nedum Onuoha galloped forward from right-back to calmly slot home from Stephen Ireland's clever clipped pass.
After the interval Taylor pulled off a brilliant stop to tip over Sam Togwell's drive from range before Sylvinho showed there is at least one Brazilian at City capable of genuine magic.
Taking the ball in his stride 30 yards from goal the veteran full-back arched a wondrous effort that dipped and swerved before making its way into the top corner.
Scunthorpe refused to lose faith though and made for a thrilling finale when with over 20 minutes still to play Byrne's volley from a long throw was deflected off Dedryck Boyata and beyond Taylor.
Backed by a boisterous home faithful Scunthorpe knocked on the door for a leveller but City, and in particular Robinho, had the final say five minutes from time.
A finely constructed move by the away side culminated in Robinho capping off what could be his last game in a City shirt this season with a goal, as he lashed past Murphy from close range.
Battling qualities
If City's stars thought Petrov's early goal would take the sting out of their opponents they were sadly mistaken as Scunthorpe pressed in search of an equaliser. Woolford cut inside before firing a long-range effort across Taylor's goal in the 10th minute, and five minutes later the home side came even closer.
Hayes played Marcus Williams into the left side of the box and only a saving challenge by Abdi Ibrahim helped City shepherd the ball out for a corner. Byrne got his head to Grant McCann's corner only to see it hammer the underside of the bar then bounce down for Vincent Kompany to boot clear. Hayes then screwed a shot on the rebound wide.
With chants of "what a waste of money" greeting Robinho on the rare occasion he touched the ball, the home fans were revelling in a hard-fought tie. Petrov came close to a second in the 26th minute when he curled a shot from the opposite flank which was held well by the diving Murphy.
But the home side grabbed their richly deserved equaliser in the 29th minute when McCann's short corner led to confusion in the City box and Hayes found space to volley into the top corner.
Last laugh
As confidence continued to flood through the home side Gary Hooper blazed over the bar while Robinho's similar attempt at the other end almost cleared the stand and drew more jeers. But City nudged back ahead in the final minute of a busy half when Ireland threaded a neat ball into the Scunthorpe box and Onuoha shot home from a tight angle.
Togwell had the first chance of the second half in the 54th minute when he was cued up by Hooper to hit a long-range shot which Taylor did superbly to tip over the bar. The ever-dangerous Petrov lashed another left-foot effort just wide after a neat lay-off from Robinho before Sylvinho effectively wrapped the tie up in the 57th minute with his stunning effort.
But Scunthorpe found renewed hope in the 69th minute when Byrne stabbed home from close range. The home side pushed for an equaliser but Robinho had the last laugh after he was fed by Petrov before lifting the ball into the roof of the net.
The Brazilian was substituted almost immediately and made a point of shaking hands with each member of the City bench with his brief career at Eastlands seemingly over.
| Scunthorpe United |
Team Statistics |
Manchester City |
| 2 |
Goals |
4 |
| 1 |
1st Half Goals |
2 |
| 3 |
Shots on Target |
13 |
| 8 |
Shots off Target |
7 |
| 3 |
Blocked Shots |
1 |
| 7 |
Corners |
2 |
| 9 |
Fouls |
9 |
| 2 |
Offsides |
3 |
| 0 |
Yellow Cards |
2 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 71 |
Passing Success |
78.5 |
| 10 |
Tackles |
16 |
| 80 |
Tackles Success |
75 |
| 44.7 |
Possession |
55.3 |
| 57 |
Territorial Advantage |
43 |
|
