On this day in 1981, we look back at our dramatic FA Cup semi-final victory over Ipswich Town, capped by Paul Power's dramatic extra time winner, which fired the Blues to Wembley.
This article was originally published in 2021 on the 40th anniversary of that game...
It sounds like a flight of fancy that only the most imaginative of Hollywood script writers could conjure up.
Boyhood fan and club captain strikes a spectacular extra time FA Cup semi-final winner to secure victory against the leading side in England in front of thousands of jubilant City fans.
For Paul Power, however, fiction became fact when his exquisite shot from an indirect free-kick stunned Ipswich Town at a packed Villa Park, fired City to Wembley and provided our fans with a slice of true Blue heaven.
Over the course of a distinguished career that saw him chalk up more than 400 appearances for the Club between 1975 and 1986, it’s fair to say that Power saw it all.
From the lows of relegation and managerial merry-go-rounds to the highs of that semi-final and proudly leading City out for the 1981 Centenary FA Cup final.
In many ways City’s 1980/81 campaign served as the perfect microcosm of Power’s City career.
A wretched start saw us plunge to the foot of the table and led to the October dismissal of manager Malcolm Allison with John Bond - an equally flamboyant, outspoken character – lured from Norwich to replace Big Mal.
Bond’s arrival - allied to some smart manoeuvres in the transfer market - helped inspire a dramatic transformation in fortunes.
From the trauma of a potential relegation fight, City began a steady climb up the Division One rankings towards mid table respectability and also embarked on two thrilling Cup runs.
Our League Cup adventure finally ended in a heroic two-legged loss to Liverpool – but only after Bond’s men had given an Anfield side that would go on to lift the European Cup later that season the mother of all scares - Bob Paisley’s men edging through 2-1 on aggregate.
An emboldened City subsequently channelled that positive momentum into our FA Cup campaign.
Ironically, our third and fourth round ties saw us pitted against a Crystal Palace side now managed by Allison for a second time and Bond’s former Norwich charges.
Bond’s cavaliers swept both away with contemptuous ease, romping to 4-0 and 6-0 victories respectively.
“It was unbelievable to play them and we were just starting to fire,” Paul recalls reflecting back.
“Kevin Bond who later joined us, played for Norwich that day, John Bond came down from the director’s seat to give his son a hug, and we battered them so I think he was going to console him!
“Of course, Kevin then signed for us and had a good career at City and was involved in management himself in China and other places. There were lots of good people around (the club).”
After the Eagles and Canaries had been grounded with ease, City demonstrated that we could also marry grit and character alongside our dashing verve and vivacity.
A banana skin of a fifth-round assignment away to fourth division Peterborough United was successfully navigated thanks to Tommy Booth’s smartly executed finish.