MANCHESTER City could be described as a bogey team for many sides in the Premier League – but Cherries certainly must be sick of playing the Citizens.
Beyond the star-studded sides of the Premier League era, Cherries fans of a certain vintage will recall the battles between the two sides in the lower reaches of the Football League, back in the third and fourth divisions.
They will be hard pressed to recall a win, as the Dorset side are yet to record victory over their Manchester counterparts. Their record to date?
Played 17, drawn two, lost 15.
Currently, City have won the previous 11 games on the bounce, with the last point gained by Cherries coming last century, a 0-0 draw at the Vitality Stadium in February 1999.
Whilst one of the two draws was a goalless affair, the other game packed in the goals in a pulsating 3-3 draw.
Back in 1988-89, Manchester City were gunning for promotion to the top flight, battling it out with modern day title rivals Chelsea.
By the time Cherries rolled into town, Chelsea had been crowned champions, but City knew victory and dropped points by nearest challengers Crystal Palace would secure promotion.
Cherries’ own promotion ambitions had faded when their play-off push faltered with nine defeats in the 12 games leading up to the clash with City.
Long before the time of Middle Eastern money and the Etihad, Maine Road was packed to the rafters, with some of Cherries’ away allocated seats sold to home fans, such was the differing demands from both sets of supporters.
It was a perfect start for the hosts, as after two minutes of action, they had taken the lead.
A long ball from Andy Hinchcliffe could not be dealt with by the Cherries captain Mark Newsome, with Paul Moulden, who would join Cherries the following season, popping up to open scores from 12 yards.
Moulden would be involved in a deal that saw Cherries’ Ian Bishop move the other way, with the midfielder starting that day for the south coast side.
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City controlled the entirety of the first-half, doubling their lead six minutes before the break.
Hinchcliffe again turned provider, feeding Trevor Morley, who span his man before curling the ball into the final corner.
Minutes before the break, City had made it three.
Once more, Hinchcliffe was involved, as his free-kick bobbled onto the crossbar, before falling for Moulden to again tap home.
3-0 down at the break and Maine Road in celebration mode, Cherries could have been resigned to the result.
However, they came out after the restart with a point to prove, eventually clawing one back through Peter Shearer midway through the second-half.
Matty Holmes produced a second shortly after, putting the home crowd on edge.
After providing all three goals, Hinclifee yet again played a role in another goal, his clumsy challenge in his own box giving away an injury time penalty.
Luther Blissett dusted himself down before blasting the ball home, equalising scores 3-3 in the 97th minute.
In the end, there proved to be a happy ending for both teams – City would go on to secure promotion, whilst Cherries went on to record what was then a club-high finish, of 12th in the second tier.
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