Striking double act served up great entertainment against Pompey for the fans
In the latest article of our flashback series, , former Bristol City reporter for the Bristol Evening Post, recalls a thrilling draw between the Robins and Portsmouth early in the 1992-93 season. The sides meet in the FA Cup third round at Ashton Gate on
JACKI Dziekanowski and Andy Cole in the same Bristol City team. No wonder the 1992-93 season began on a tidal wave of optimism at Ashton Gate.
The visit of Portsmouth on Saturday, August 15 for a First Division clash in the inaugural season of the Premier League drew a crowd of more than 15,000. No one went home disappointed after a feast of attacking football which saw the teams share six goals and serve up thrills galore from first whistle to last.
Guy Whittingham scored a hattrick for the visitors. But, for home supporters, any regrets at kicking off with no more than a home draw were outweighed by seeing two of the most exciting players ever to don a Robins shirt combining in spectacular fashion.
Dziekanowski, signed for £250,000 from Celtic the previous January, had instantly become a fans’ favourite, scoring six times in his first 11 appearances.
Those strikes included an FA Cup goal at Leicester City where his balletic performance on an icy pitch led BBC commentator John Motson to describe him as looking like he came “from another planet.”
Cole had joined Jacki at Ashton Gate two months later in March 1992, by which time Denis Smith had replaced Jimmy Lumsden as manager.
Plucked out of Arsenal Reserves as a virtual unknown, he also made a huge impact, scoring eight goals in 12 games and earning a permanent £500,000 move from Highbury the following summer.
Now both Cole and Dziekanowski had shared a pre-season in which to hone their double act. Only three minutes into the new campaign, Portsmouth found out how devastating they could be. Dziekanowski controlled a Cole pass with his head before unleashing a dipping volley which flashed past goalkeeper Alan Knight.
In his programme notes, Smith had written: “The aim is to play entertaining attractive football.” Soon his team were living up to that billing.
Dziekanowski was on fire in the early stages of the game. City’s Pole star, who could charm the birds from the trees off the pitch, was at his most impudent on it with some dazzling close control.
Only a desperate trip by Pompey defender Kit Symons denied him the chance to double City’s advantage in an opening blitz.
Yet, incredibly, by the 15th minute, Smith’s men were trailing as Whittingham, the former British Army soldier, who numbered Yeovil Town among his previous clubs, suddenly took centre stage. The striker took advantage of a poor clearance by Brian Mitchell to shoot past Andy Leaning on eight minutes, then grabbed a second with a low drive after Alan McLoughlin had set up the chance.
Despite fielding three centrebacks, City were in danger of falling apart. Pompey’s £400,000 summer signing Paul Walsh, formerly of Liverpool and Tottenham, beat Leaning to a through ball and shot wide of an unguarded net.
But the match turned again on 28 minutes, with tenacious Scot Micky Mellon, now manager of Dundee United, breaking from midfield and feeding Dziekanowski. A perfectlytimed through ball put Cole through and the striker forced Knight to commit himself before a clinical finish into the empty net.
According to my report “Cole went on to produce the most thrilling display by a City striker in years. His ability to turn defenders and speed off the mark caused endless problems. One devastating secondhalf run ended with a shot against the upright, while two more efforts brought diving saves by Knight.”
The Portsmouth goalkeeper had done well, but was at fault five minutes into the second half in allowing Dziekanowski’s shot from 25 yards to slip under his body to give the hosts a 3-2 lead.
It seemed City’s defensive frailty would not prevent them starting the season with a win. But, six minutes later, they were caught out again as Symons rose to head down and Whittingham, looking suspiciously offside, completed his treble from close range.
The final half-hour saw both sides go close to a winner, with fans on the edge of their seats and both managers suffering numerous anxious moments. After the game, Pompey’s wily boss Jim Smith claimed to have even less hair than he started out with, while Smith rated the contest “nine out of ten for entertainment and 11 out of ten for heart attacks!”
Later, the City manager elaborated. “You won’t see better attacking football than that anywhere in the country,” he said. “The standard was so high. Portsmouth have two of the best young central defenders in the league, yet we scored three times and hit the post. Every time we had the ball, we caused them problems.”
In his first programme message of the new season, City chairman Les Kew had written on behalf of the board: “We have given our new manager Denis full support in bringing the exciting Andrew Cole to Ashton Gate. Together with Leroy Rosenior and Jacki Dziekanowski, we now have a formidable strikeforce, so let’s look forward to a season of success and hope that our dreams can be fulfilled.”
Sadly, it wasn’t to be. After a promising start, City began to ship goals at such an alarming rate that Smith lost his job in January after just ten months in charge.
Before the season ended, Dziekanowski had lost his place in the team and Cole was sold to Newcastle United for £1.75 million.
Smith’s replacement, Russell Osman, who had lined up in defence against Portsmouth, guided City out of relegation trouble to a final placing of 15th.
But the brightest of many false dawns at Ashton Gate had been emphatically extinguished.