Bellamy claims City winner

08 August 2009 18:29
Craig Bellamy's goal proved the difference as his current club Manchester City beat Celtic, one of his old ones, 2-1 at Eastlands. After sanctioning a near-¦pound;100million summer spending spree, Blues chairman Khaldoon al-Mubarak was on hand to watch Mark Hughes' men record the victory that will send them to Blackburn for next Saturday's Premier League opener believing they can start to match the hype that has grown around them. Bellamy scored five minutes after the restart once Chris Killen had levelled Gareth Barry's fine effort before half-time. With Carlos Tevez making his debut as a second-half substitute to partner Emmanuel Adebayor in attack, Hughes' new-look side is beginning to take shape, even though Kolo Toure lasted only 18 minutes before signalling he could not continue. When Gareth Barry arrived with perfect timing to steer home Pablo Zabaleta's cross after 15 minutes it seemed all would be well with the world. Instead, a crack appeared immediately. Giorgios Samaras responded to his inclusion from the start by Tony Mowbray with an exquisite pass to Killen. The one-time City trainee went speeding past Richard Dunne before lashing a fine shot beyond Shay Given. As Given had only just tipped a Darren O'Dea effort over the bar it hardly came against the run of play and from that point until the break, there was very little finesse from home ranks. While Adebayor was not directly involved in City's second goal five minutes after the restart, his presence had provided Celtic's defence with a problem, which allowed an old boy who had made the switch from north to south rather than the other way round to fire home, Bellamy gleefully finishing off Wayne Bridge's long ball. Quarter of an hour later, Bellamy gave way to Tevez, who is destined to become a City hero. The raucous reception turned out to be the remaining high point as the contest meandered to its conclusion.

Source: Eurosport