MANCHESTER CITY RES 4 ROVERS RES 1

ALAN Murray's first competitive game in charge of Rovers' reserves ended in disappointment last night as a rampant Manchester City turned on the style in front of Kevin Keegan.

A strong City side containing a host of players with first team experience were fired up to put on a show for the former England boss.

And the new Maine Road chief must have left Hyde United's Ewen Field s ground with plenty of food for thought after Rovers were blown away by a devastating first half goal-blitz.

With pacey strike duo Darren Huckerby and Paul Dickov causing havoc upfront, City raced into a 3-0 lead inside the opening 27 minutes.

Craig Hignett then gave Rovers brief hope after pulling a goal back from the penalty spot.

But a stunning volley from Shaun Wright-Phillips 11 minutes before the break all but wrapped up the points for the home side.

Rovers were on the back foot from the moment City stormed into a seventh minute lead when Australian defender Tony Colisimo rose majestically to head home a right-wing corner.

And, after Dickov and Wright-Phillips had wasted further opportunities to increase their advantage, Terry Cooke then grabbed the second on 17 minutes when he lashed a volley past John Filan after another corner was only half cleared.

As Rovers struggled to stem the tide, Kevin Horlock then made it 3-0 on 27 minutes when he fired home from the edge of the box after a slip by Jeff Kenna.

In a rare breakaway by the visitors, Egil Ostenstad offered Rovers brief hope when he was sent tumbling in the box by Dickson Etuhu, allowing Hignett to pull one back from the spot.

But the game was effectively over as a contest once Wright-Phillips bagged City's fourth in emphatic style after the Rovers defence had again failed to clear a set-piece.

That prompted a half-time switch from Murray, who threw on striker James Thomas in place of Gordon Greer.

And that triggered an instant improvement as Damien Johnson and Ostenstad both went close soon after the break.

However, City came close to a fifth in the closing stages when the illusive Dickov struck the base of a post after a neat interchange with Huckerby.

One crumb of comfort for Murray was the performance of Alan Mahon in midfield who looked Rovers' best player as he stepped up his comeback from injury.

ROVERS: Filan, Kenna, Grayson, Greer, Taylor, Broomes, Hignett, Dunning, Ostenstad, Johnson, Mahon. Subs: Thomas (for Greer, 46), Corbett (for Ostenstad, 63) Not used: Miller, Murray.

CITY: Murphy, Etuhu, Edghill, Grant, Colisimo, Horlock, Wright-Phillips, Whitley, Dickov, Huckerby, Cooke. Subs: McCarthy (for Wright-Phillips, 86) Not used: Hodgson, Furnival, Hogan, Tunnicliffe.