West Ham 1 - 1 City

A very 'end of season' affair. Although there was the fifth spot to seal, Richard Dunne made sure we could attain it in the most lethargic manner possible - and make sure there weren't too many last minute nerves to add to a nervous week.

I didn't make it to the game today, but the commentator introducing the coverage I watched said that "it would take most of the summer for City to recover from Wednesday night," which I thought was a bit much but, with this in mind, I was happy with the way City started the game. West Ham were happy to lie deep and watch City for the opening half hour - and this allowed City to dominate possession, with Johnson and Wright-Phillips supplying occasional threats.

So, just like the Villa game, it was West Ham who drew first blood - a slightly absent piece of defending from Zabaleta besides, Diamanti's skill and Boa Morte's finish showed the sort of quality the West Ham fans would've wanted to have seen more of this season.

Johnson, who was superb in his last pitch to the England selectors, caused lots of problems in the first half - and his right foot cross found Shauny with an improbably precise header only minutes later. Johnson also perhaps should have had a penalty after a dazzling run looked to be halted by Upson's out-stretched leg.

Both Johnson and Wright-Phillips did their chances of a call-up to England's 30-man squad this Tuesday no harm - both had more to play for than the rest of the City squad and it showed as they produced energetic displays infront of Baldini that were mostly lacking elsewhere on the pitch.

Santa Cruz and Sylvinho were both perhaps playing their last games at the club, but only Sylvinho did justice to such an occasion - playing a typically classy and adventurous game before he was replaced late on.

In the second half, the will seemed to swing to West Ham a bit more and City were left scrambling on a few occasions, but ultimately neither side really looked like they wanted it enough in the second 45 minutes.

Tevez got the loudest cheer of the day and then carried on to have only a marginally more effective time on the pitch than Santa Cruz. His placing on the bench suggested he is amongst the 'very tired' players Mancini spoke about, but it was good to hear more positive noises coming from his direction in the week. Without him, there is a lack of that clinical touch upfront.

So, fifth is achieved and, despite what some City fans say, it is a real achievement and another step in our progress up the Premier League. A little early maybe, but in today's Observer they had the odds for next season's champions and it placed City a joint third with Arsenal for the title. After coming so close, the frustration at not coming fourth is understandable, but things are looking really positive for next season, and already I cannot wait for City to kick-off again in the next campaign. Thank goodness for the World Cup!