DESPITE the cold mist seeping over Maine Road yesterday, the Manchester City faithful still reckoned they should see a Blue moon. They were in full force as their team eclipsed Leeds; for the visitors, there was only the evaporating dream that Terry Venables had corrected all the ills he inherited.

The contest was illuminated by two splendid City goals, with only a consolation at the end for Harry Kewell and the visitors. But this was a fair result, an end to the mini-revival of six unbeaten Leeds matches, and confirmation that City are good for at least a top-half finish in their final season at this evocative ground.

There were 34,884 spectators to see it, satisfied customers most of them, and what a pity it will be when this arena is finally bulldozed and the club moves east across the city away from its traditional heartland.

The goal that separated the teams at half-time was a classic example of Kevin Keegan’s eye for talent. He may not always know how to blend the parts, but in the eye of Eyal Berkovic and the finishing of Shaun Goater, he has the talent all right.

On 29 minutes, Berkovic cunningly switched play and Goater glided through to finish unerringly beyond the stranded Paul Robinson.

Goater’s strike came barely two minutes after Peter Schmeichel rolled back the years with a breathtaking save to prevent City from going behind, jack-knifing to his left to beat away a deflected shot from Kewell.

To meet Terry Venables’ Christmas-tree formation, Keegan and his coaches offered three at the back, four in midfield, one in the hole, and the pace of Nicolas Anelka and the lurking Goater waiting to be served. “Some of our one-touch passing at times was outstanding,” said Keegan.

The key to the match had been the man in the hole, the mercurial Israeli Berkovic. Indeed, it was from the same source that City could have gone further ahead three minutes before half-time. Niclas Jensen had rolled a thoughtful ball down the left, Berkovic latched on to it, centred towards the goalmouth and Marc-Vivien Foe rose unimpeded, alas to head wide.

There was still time for an equaliser in the first half, but Jason Wilcox hesitated inside the penalty area, crossed the ball to Kewell and, just as the Australian aimed to shoot, Sun Jihai smothered it.

The second half was barely under way when Anelka, often the outstanding force on the field, chipped the ball from the right towards the left edge of the penalty area. It was met on the volley by Jensen and his left-footed shot speared into the far top corner of the net. “It was a magical goal,” Venables conceded.

The Leeds squad is thinning, and the removal of Olivier Dacourt and Lee Bowyer from the payroll does not mean that there are reserves aplenty in the club. However, there is now a spirit, and we saw it rise during the second half when the yellow shirts of Leeds poured forward.

It wasn’t to be because these are hardly the conditions for Australians — Mark Viduka was anonymous in attack, Paul Okon was bewitched by the movement of Berkovic in midfield. As to Kewell? Petulant, but very definitely interested in conjuring something out of the defeat. He did score, but it was in the final minute of added time. It was provided by a penetrative through-ball from Jonathan Woodgate, and Kewell was left all alone by the first serious breakdown of City’s attempted offside trap. By then, Keegan scarcely cared. He had seen his defence well sealed by Howey, and augmented when necessary by Kevin Horlock and Jihai.

Because of that, it was actually Robinson who had to make significant saves: a wonderful kick over his own bar from Horlock’s free kick, and clawing down another rising, rasping shot from Jensen. Ultimately all the points went where they deserved to go, and Leeds are left to redraft and to consolidate again their recent improvements.

Man City: Schmeichel, Dunne, Howey, Distin, Jihai, Berkovic (Benarbia 84), Foe, Horlock, Jensen, Goater (Wright-Phillips 80), Anelka.

Subs Not Used: Nash, Wiekens, Huckerby.

Goals: Goater 29, Jensen 50.

Leeds: Robinson, Kelly, Mills, Woodgate, Matteo, Smith (Milner 60), Bakke (Fowler 72), Okon, Wilcox, Viduka (Seth Johnson 72), Kewell.

Subs Not Used: Martyn, Lucic.

Booked: Kewell, Matteo, Mills, Seth Johnson.

Goals: Kewell 90.

Att: 34,884

Ref: R Styles (Hampshire).

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