Manchester City Football Club News

• Nickname:Sky Blues
• Founded:1887
• Manager:Roberto Mancini

• Ground:City of Manchester Stadium
• Capacity:48,000

Hughes hails brave Bellamy

27 Feb 2009 - 08:04:55

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Manchester City manager Mark Hughes revealed after his side had progressed to the last 16 of the UEFA Cup that two-goal hero Craig Bellamy had played in the game despite the recent death of his cousin.

The Wales international scored both City's goals in the 2-1 victory against FC Copenhagen at Eastlands that completed a narrow 4-3 aggregate success.

Hughes said after the win: "Craig showed great character as he has done for many years. He showed real mental strength to play after a very close family member had passed away.

"It was touch and go whether he was in the right frame of mind to play. He wanted to play and we benefited from that.

"Under difficult circumstances he has come through and made the impact we hoped he would."

Bellamy added: "I lost my cousin, one of my closest friends, on Wednesday morning.

"Today was a hard day for me, for my family and his family. I'll miss him dearly and I'd like to dedicate this game to him and the goals as well."