Source: Team_Talk
City take Hart from Lane stalemate
Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart survived a first-half onslaught as his side's Premier League opener at Tottenham on Saturday ended 0-0.[LNB] Hart fully justified his new status as City and England number one with a succession of world-class saves before half-time to deny Jermain Defoe, Tom Huddlestone and Benoit Assou-Ekotto, while Gareth Bale also hit the post.[LNB]City's multi-million-pound summer signings struggled in the opening 45 minutes but finally turned up after the break, with Shaun Wright-Phillips having the best chance for Roberto Mancini's side - although Bale missed a golden chance to snatch victory for Spurs.[LNB]Hart got the nod of Shay Given in the City goal, while the visitors also handed competitive debuts to Yaya Toure, David Silva and Aleksandar Kolarov.[LNB]Mario Balotelli, who only completed his move from Inter Milan on Friday, was not in the squad, with Carlos Tevez captaining the side and starting up front on his own.[LNB]In stark contrast to City's summer spending spree, Spurs' only new recruit - Sandro - had yet to arrive from Internacional.[LNB]But Harry Redknapp's men had been good enough to deny Saturday's opponents a top-four spot in May, winning at the City of Manchester Stadium to qualify for the Champions League for the first time.[LNB]Anything less than that for City this term would not be tolerated by their mega-rich owners.[LNB]A fast and frenetic opening saw a half-chance on the volley for Wright-Phillips and a Peter Crouch header kept out by Hart.[LNB]Crouch was proving a handful, setting up the first clear-cut opportunity in the 11th minute with a header back across goal from Aaron Lennon's cross.[LNB]Jermain Defoe swivelled to fire goalward at point-blank range but Hart somehow kept the ball out and Ledley King was thwarted on the rebound.[LNB]Hart sprang sideways to repel Tom Huddlestone's hooked 25-yard volley moments before producing an even better save to keep out Benoit Assou-Ekotto's viciously-deflected piledriver.[LNB]Vincent Kompany earned the first yellow card for bringing down Defoe 25 yards from goal and a Michael Dawson slip in the box almost let in Tevez but Ledley King snuffed out the danger.[LNB]Hart rescued City again seconds later when Kompany was beaten to the ball by Defoe.[LNB]The City keeper was finally beaten on the half-hour but the post came to his rescue to keep out Bale's 12-yard drive and Kompany managed to block Lennon's follow-up.[LNB]City broke and Yaya Toure drilled wide from 20 yards before a wonderful crossfield ball from Assou-Ekotto sent Defoe clean through.[LNB]Hart's legs did enough to keep the ball out and Kolarov just beat Defoe to the rebound.[LNB]A peach of a cross from Bale evaded everyone before Yaya Toure's deflected drive forced the first real save from Heurelho Gomes.[LNB]Kompany escaped a second yellow card moments before the break despite a cynical foul on Defoe.[LNB]Spurs paraded the majority of their 1961 double-winning side at half-time, during which City withdrew the injured Kolarov for Pablo Zabaleta.[LNB]The visitors should have taken the lead inside a minute, Yaya Toure brilliantly picking out the diagonal run of Wright-Phillips.[LNB]But the winger's first touch let him down and Assou-Ekotto recovered to nick the ball to safety.[LNB]Yaya Toure was making inroads and Silva and Tevez both saw shots blocked from another fine ball as light rain began to fall in north London.[LNB]Zabaleta was booked for felling Lennon on the right touchline but otherwise City were defending with much greater comfort.[LNB]They were also more of a threat, Yaya Toure picking out Micah Richards, whose weak header was caught by Gomes.[LNB]City almost came unstuck just past the hour mark but an unmarked Crouch horribly mistimed his header from Lennon's cross.[LNB]Both sides made 68th minute changes, Adam Johnson coming on for Wright-Phillips for City, while Spurs replaced their strikeforce as Robbie Keane and Roman Pavlyuchenko both entered the fray.[LNB]Johnson made an instant impact, feeding Tevez, whose shot was deflected narrowly wide by the charging King.[LNB]Spurs broke from the resulting corner and Pavlyuchenko twice sent shots too close to Hart.[LNB]Lennon then cut inside and fired straight at Hart moments before being replaced for the final 13 minutes by Giovani Dos Santos.[LNB]The forward just failed to get on the end of Luka Modric's clipped ball.[LNB]Tevez saw another shot blocked - this time by the head of King - the striker's last act before being replaced by Emmanuel Adebayor for the final seven minutes.[LNB]Bale missed a glorious chance to snatch all three points for Spurs when he sliced horribly wide on his weaker right foot after Pavlyuchenko's cross had broken to him off Nigel de Jong.[LNB]The winger made amends with a glorious ball for the Russian, who was thwarted by a brilliant Kompany tackle.[LNB]Pavlyuchenko was well wide from distance in the closing moments as the game ended goalless.
