JOE HART PLAYED potentially his last Manchester City game as Pep Guardiola’s team rubber-stamped their place in the Champions League group phase by beating Steaua Bucharest 1-0 tonight.
Leading 5-0 from last week’s away leg, City completed a 6-0 aggregate victory courtesy of Fabian Delph’s second-half header, putting them in tomorrow’s group-stage draw in Monaco with room to spare.
But the spotlight at a less-than-full Etihad Stadium fell squarely on goalkeeper Hart, who was making his first competitive appearance of the season after being frozen out by Guardiola.
With Claudio Bravo poised to complete a €20million move from Barcelona, this could have been Hart’s 348th and final City appearance.
A veteran of City’s two Premier League title wins, two League Cup successes and 2011 FA Cup triumph, the 29-year-old England goalkeeper had his name chanted by the club’s fans throughout the game.
Hart, who was handed the captain’s armband for the game, has been linked with a move to Everton or Sevilla. His fellow outcast Yaya Toure was also handed a start by Guardiola, who saw Nigerian striker Kelechi Iheanacho hobble off with a muscular injury late on.
A picture of Hart had been removed from the stadium’s exterior wall prior to the game as part of a visual facelift, but City’s fans made it clear they were unhappy about his treatment by Guardiola.
One group of fans held a banner reading “A GOOD HART THESE DAYS IS HARD TO FIND” and a chant of “Don’t sell Joe Hart!” broke out within seconds of kick-off.
Guardiola has justified his decision to sideline Hart by citing concerns about his passing ability and there were ironic cheers every time the City goalkeeper successfully picked out a team-mate.
City controlled the game, but although Iheanacho, Nolito and Delph all hit the target in the first half, none of them came close to troubling Steaua goalkeeper Valentin Cojocaru.
After drawing a block from Cojocaru, Delph made the breakthrough in the 56th minute when he converted Jesus Navas’ right-wing cross with a glancing header.
But the home fans had other preoccupations and after a chant of “Stand up if you love Joe Hart!” had drawn almost everyone in the ground to their feet, his first save, from Adrian Popa, prompted a huge cheer.
There were two further saves, to repel a free-kick from Nicolae Stanciu and a close-range Alexandru Tudorie effort, and both were greeted in the same manner.
A straightforward evening for Guardiola took an unwelcome twist towards the end when Iheanacho pulled up abruptly as he chased a through ball and had to be stretchered off.manch
Thank the Lord Cafferkey is gone. Been a great servant but past it. Vaughan the best choice to nullify Star.
Seamus to be dropped, Durcan to start in the half backs with Lee coming into the middle to shackle Moran and stop the ball being fed into the front 3.
God knows we owe the cute hoor artists…here’s hoping.
@Jack Strong: just wait till we get Jack Barry on. Keegan and Aidan o shea won’t know what hit them
@Seán O’Sullivan: Enda Smith, the form midfielder in the country, disagrees. If we’re going to get at Kerry at all it’s going to be in midfield. Aidan on Maher gives us a real chance of getting the running game going from the half back line. If we get Paddy, Zippy and Kev Mc running at the Kerry defence ye’re in trouble.
@Seán O’Sullivan: Jack Barry is a poor man’s William Kirby. No where near as good as he’s made out to be. A big block of a man but a very limited footballer.
@Tomás Ó Tiocair: if he’s that bad how did he play Brian Fenton off the field in the league final? If he can do it to Fenton he can do it to keegan surely
@Jack Strong: there’s no way maher will mark o shea or keegan. He’s way too slow. He’ll be on parsons I’d say.
@Seán O’Sullivan: Jesus anyone can have an off day. Sure the Galway corner back literally played JOD off the field in the QF….should we hand him the all star now and hail him the next Mark O’Se???
@Seán O’Sullivan: Parsons is the quicker of the two so Maher has to pick up one of them. Mayo will play a 3 man midfield with Aidan flirting between there and the 45 because it’s Kerry’s weakest line.
@Jack Strong: Technically Cafferkey is one of the best around, might just be a little bit too slow. But in terms of getting his hand in and technique, he’s very very good.
@Daragh O’Brien: agree Darragh. He’s been left exposed in the past by tactics more than anything else. He’s a quality player and former all star. There’s no better full back on that Mayo panel unfortunately. He probably didn’t get a great chance to get match sharp coming back from injury and was poor against Cork. I’d personally like to see him in there to make amends for Kerry 2014. I know he would be raring for that.
@Daragh O’Brien: Cafferkey has been roasted alive all year, he was simply woeful in Salthill and against Ros. Solid in his day but that day has definitely gone, he’s lost the legs since the injury last year.
@Tomás Ó Tiocair: an off day because Barry was there
@Seán O’Sullivan: Fenton is streets ahead of Barry but you keep on telling yourself otherwise. #deluded
“Good old St Lee. Never breaks the rules. No pulling, dragging, punching”. Says everyone from Mayo. But nobody else.
@Thomas McGilly: he’s easier defend than a fella with a criminal conviction in any case.
@Thomas McGilly: there’s a reason he saw red in 14 and black in 16.
@Jack Strong: Good man Jack. Whatabouttery from the get go.
@Seán O’Sullivan: Keegan was sent off for a nothing offence in 14. Walsh was pathetic with his carry on that day. Enright was the only one who deserved to see the line that day and the outcome would have been very different.
@Thomas McGilly: I wonder who’s jersey he’ll be asking for during the game when he’s trying to rip it off his shoulders.
@Dave Murray: Ah St. Lee doesn’t do such things. He is, as Ellis Boyd Redding would say, “Cleaner than a virgin’s honey potter”.
From a Galway man have a feeling mayo will edge this,there hungry for blood and out for the kill had to bring Vaughan in ,I said after Galway beat them was best thing to happen to them and put money on them to be there year ,prob be game of the season ,can’t wait to see the midfield battle and if Kerry can stop mayos runners and if mayo can stop supply to the full forward line,very intrigued indeed
Its hard to see anything other than a comfortable win for kerry, but to have any chance ,Mayo will have to make sure they stay in this game early on, and if so after forthy mins it might be an interesting finish.
Great team Cmon Mayo
I think colm the gooch cooper is gonna have a field day against this mayo defence. Not 1 of them will stop him
Yeah… he’ll have a great game in the studio.