On this day (8 October) in 1975 I celebrated my birthday by watching Manchester City defeat Nottingham Forest 2-1 with goals from Colin Bell and Joe Royle in the 3rd round of the successful League Cup campaign. Pre-match Forest manager Brian Clough told the press: ‘I was praying Manchester City would beat Norwich [in the previous round] because I wanted to play the best. City are one of the most entertaining and talented sides in the First Division at home. We have no serious thoughts of shocking City but we hope to give a good account of ourselves against a side that is potentially one of the best in the land.’ He added:
‘When I last came to Maine Road it was with Leeds United and we lost 2-1. If we keep the score down to 2-1 tonight then I think we’ll show the strides that Nottingham Forest have taken.’
Clough, one of football’s most knowledgeable men, predicted the score accurately with goals from Bell and Royle helping City achieve the 2-1 result. That win put City into the fourth round and set Manchester up for a League Cup derby match for the second successive year.
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