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The game ends goaless, as both teams create few real chances in-front of goal
Danny Mills and Ronnie Wallwork booked for unsporting behaviour
Richard Chaplow replaces Ronnie Wallwork
Lee Croft comes on to replaceTrevor Sinclair
Steve Watson replaces Jonathan Greening
Chris Kirkland again denies city as he pulls off a fantastic save froma Joey Barton effort
Kiki Musampa misses the best chance of the game as Claudio Reyna pulls the ball back for a simple header. Musampa fails to hit the target, firing wide of the left hand upright
Darius Vassell makes way for Bradley Wright-Phillips
Thomas Gaardsoe pulls back Darius Vassell as he looked to have beat the defender for pace
Andrew Cole gets beyond Thomas Gaardsoe but Chris Kirkland denies the City striker with a fine low save
Dangerous cross from Kiki Musampa collected well by Chris Kirkland
Diomansy Kamara on for Nwankwo Kanu
Trevor Sinclair steers a right-footed shot wide of the upright after good work from Kiki Musampa
Kiki Musampa nutmegs Martin Albrechtsen as the West Brom defender concedes a foul out of frustration
Ronnie Wallwork catches Kiki Musampa late leaving the City defender in pain and needing treatment
Thomas Gaardsoe with a fine tackle to prevent Trevor Sinclair from shooting
Zoltan Gera wasteful in possesion as he mis-places another pass in the middle of the park
Kevin Campbell squanders a one-on-one as he rounds David james and misses wide of the City net
West Brom start the second half with renewed purpose as they coninue to put the City defence under pressure
The half-time whistle brings an end to a first-half of few chances.
Chris Kirkland with a fantastic save low to his right from a suberb strike from city's Claudio Reyna. Corner to Man City
Wasteful corner for West Brom result in easy clearance for Danny Mills
West Brom force concecutive corners as they end the first half on top
Trevor Sinclair loops ball forward to Joey Barton who headed difficult chance over the bar
Zoltan Gera misses far post header from an excellent Jonathan Greening cross.
Attacking throw in for Man City
Joey Barton brings down Nwankwo Kanu with a deliberate late challenge. Free kick on the half way line
Trevor Sinclair crosses the ball for only for Joey Barton to volley staraight at Chris Kirkland
A nasty high challenge from Darius Vassell on Martin Albrechtsen results in the games first booking
Trevor Sinclair breaks clear of the defence but wastes a good chance with only the keeper to beat
Nwankwo Kanu drag back results in a dubious tackle in the opposing penalty box, referee waves play on
Kiki Musampa begins to control the game, pulling all the strings for Man City in the early exchanges
Chris Kirkland pulls out a stunning save diving to his left from a glancing Andrew Cole header
West Brom with a period of sustained pressure win another corner
Jonathan Greening bursts through the middle to earn a corner for the Midlanders
Foul on Nwankwo Kanu results in a West Brom free-kick in his own half
Both teams off to a timid start as they take time to weigh each other up
Chris Kirkland's goal
The second-half gets underway with both teams hoping to improve on their first-half performances
Kevin Campbell gets the new season underway for West Brom
Chris Kirkland and David James produced a masterclass of goalkeeping as Manchester City and West Brom fought out an opening day goalless draw. Kirkland, on a season-long loan at The Hawthorns from Liverpool, underlined why he could, injury permitting, still force his way into the England team. The former Coventry keeper pulled off a memorable string of saves to help the Baggies pick up a valuable away point at Eastlands. James, back as England number one in the injury enforced absence of Paul Robinson, was also not to be outdone, making a couple of super stops to ensure his side kept a clean sheet. It was a point which on reflection was a fair result as both sides had chances to emerge victorious. As the away manager, Bryan Robson will no doubt be the more satisfied. Robson kept faith with essentially the same side which preserved their Premiership status in May, with Kirkland the only one of his five summer signings to make the starting line-up. City's Stuart Pearce was forced to field a makeshift backline in the absence of Richard Dunne and Sylbain Distin, with David Sommeil and left-back Stephen Jordan playing as stand-in central defenders. Despite their makeshift back four, Pearce will be delighted with the way in which his side defended as they restricted the visitors to only a handful of chances. Had it not been for Kirland's heroics, City would have finished the opening period with a comfortable lead. Three times in the first 45 minutes Kirkland pulled off super saves to deny Andy Cole, Joey Barton and Claudio Reyna. Reyna's effort, late in the half, was the best as he flung himself full length low to his left to divert the American's drive around the post with his fingertips. Yet the Baggies might have stolen ahead after Jonathan Greening's centre from the left, but Zoltan Gera headed wide from eight yards with the goal at his mercy. City might have fallen behind early in the second half when Kevin Campbell beat the City offside trap and raced through on goal, only for James to block bravely when the striker looked certain to score. Neil Clement then had the audacity to try and catch James unaware with a free-kick from inside his own half and watched as his effort dipped narrowly over the crossbar. Kirkland was at his best once again midway through the second half, denying Cole for a second time as the former Manchester United striker seized on a wayward header from Thomas Gaardsoe back to the keeper. James needed all his 6ft 5in frame to claw out a cross from Hungary international Gera as it looked destined to dip into the top corner of the net. City threw on substitute striker Bradley Wright-Phillips for Darius Vassell for the last 20 minutes to try and inject new life into their attack. But despite a spirited finish City were unable to conjure a matchwinning goal. Kiki Musampa came within a whisker of finding the net when his close-range header flashed narrowly wide. Barton was then foiled by Kirkland for a second time as the Baggies keeper spread himself superbly to block a goalbound drive with his legs. Man of the Match: Chris Kirkland - The on-loan Liverpool keeper was the Baggies hero as the visitors gained a hard-earned point.
Corners
Fouls
Goal attempts
Shots off target
Offsides
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