City slickers’ shoot-out victory spot on for delighted Sparky

MANCHESTER CITY boss Mark Hughes was delighted to celebrate “a positive day all round” after seeing his side qualify for the UEFA Cup first round with a 4-2 penalty shootout victory over FC Midtjylland last night.

City, who reached the preliminary stages by virtue of their position in last season’s Fair Play league, had faced a stern test against a well-organised and dynamic counter-attacking Danish side and were clearly the poorer of the two teams for the majority of the game.

City knew the size of the task ahead in their second qualifying round return leg at the SAS Arena in Herning, having lost 1-0 in the first leg at Eastlands earlier this month.