When Manchester City travel to arch rivals United on Sunday afternoon, it will be the 170th time the two sides have met. During the previous 169 clashes, there have been numerous memorable moments, and some equally forgettable ones dependent on which side of the divide you are.
In recent seasons, the Manchester Derby has been extremely satisfying for City fans. City have triumphed in six of the previous eight derby fixtures, including four consecutive victories before defeat at Old Trafford in April. Given the Citizens recent dominance, it would be easy to select a favourite moment from the last five years or so. There has been a mixture of maulings and tight encounters decided by the odd goal, but the common denominator has been one of blue superiority.
I am going to travel back a little further. 2002 to be exact. A time when City were returning from one of the darker periods in the Club’s history. A time when supremacy over their rivals was not regularly administered. A notable occasion – the last ever derby at Maine Road.
The perfect send off for a cherished venue was a City win; and that is exactly what it got.
The fact that this was the final time the two sides would play at Maine Road wasn’t the only factor that made this match stand out from the rest. Going in to the game, City hadn’t beaten United since demolishing them 5-1 in September 1989. 13 long years of derby misery. A significant chunk of those 13 years passed without the prospect of anything more than a chance meeting in a cup tie, such was City’s plight. The blues descent saw a single season of third tier football come to Maine Road. A victory in a derby match always tastes sweeter than any other win, but such a gap between successes made it extra special.
If ending such a barren run of results against United in the last derby at Maine Road wasn’t enough, there was one final ingredient that rounded off a magnificent day. City legend Shaun Goater entered the game on 98 Manchester City goals. In a perfect alignment of the footballing stars, the Goat scored his 99th and 100th club goals, including the eventual winner in a 3-1 win.
Goater was a shining light in times of abyss for the club, and to achieve such a feat on as an emotive occasion as this was breathtaking. His first goal typified his attitude, chasing down a lost cause, making a fool out of Gary Neville, before slotting unerringly past Fabien Barthez. This was a microcosm of what made Goater a City hero, and why it meant so much to City fans that he reached his landmark in this match. He scored only 1 more goal in the blue of Manchester City which just so happened to be in the return fixture – an equaliser in a 1-1 draw. It’s funny how these things work out.
It is rare that there as many special dynamics to one game. A game that in the grander scheme of things was no more than just 1 of 38. That is something that makes derby matches unique. Instances like those of the 9th November 2002. We have been fortunate to see some extraordinary performances since that day, the 6-1 and 4-1 in title winning seasons to name but two, but neither of those conjured up something quite like the last derby at Maine Road. It is for that reason that it remains my favourite derby. Feed the Goat and he will score.
