English FA Premiership/ Manchester City 2 West Ham Utd 1: If Andy Cole had even the faintest knowledge of Manchester City's history he would know there was a time when this was the type of one-sided contest they would somehow contrive not to win.
Joe Royle used to call it Cityitis: dominating matches only to suffer from the yips and draw or, even worse, lose. Kevin Keegan failed to find an antidote but, with Stuart Pearce at the helm and the 34-year-old Cole turning back the years with his performances, the new-look City appears immune from the old symptoms.
The pressure on West Ham's goal was so unremitting at times that it seemed that the gravest threat to City came from their own wastefulness in front of goal.
Cole's precise finishing lifted City to fourth position on a day when their supporters could relish the presence of one former Manchester United striker while basking in the discomfort of another. Teddy Sheringham's substitution midway through the second half was the culmination of an inelegant display.
Cole's first goal was a strike more synonymous with Sheringham's subtle finishing skills. As Vassell was crowded out by Anton Ferdinand and Tomas Repka, he wrong-footed his markers with a lovely little drag-back. Instinctively, Cole applied just the right leverage to lift the ball over Roy Carroll with enough curl to drift inside the top right-hand corner.
In the 56th minute Vassell dispossessed Hayden Mullins and teed up Musampa for a shot that was partly blocked by Carroll and then turned into Cole's path. From eight yards Cole's fourth goal in the blue of City ensured there would be no return of Cityitis, even if Zamora's late effort left the crowd grateful for the final shrill of the referee's whistle.
* Guardian Service
