Woeful City Beaten by 10-man Coventry
Only Good Performer
By Chris O'Brien
March 3 2004
The City produced a pathetic display and were deservedly beaten 1-0 by Coventry despite the visitors spending almost the entire game with 10-men. The deadlock was broken through a 71st minute penalty from Gary McSheffrey which followed Martyn Margetson also seeing red for giving away the spot-kick.
| Woeful City Beaten by 10-man Coventry |
| The Bluebirds served up a woeful
performance that was most probably their worst of the season against a
Coventry City side who had a man sent-off in the opening seconds of a
hostile encounter at Ninian Park. A second-half penalty from Gary McSheffrey
was enough to give visiting Coventry City all three points, which they
thoroughly deserved. Despite City's inept performance, the game was full of incident with two red cars, a penalty missed, a penalty scored and a handful of bookings. The game got off to an explosive start when Peter Clarke was dismissed for a foul on John Robinson. The decision looked harsh, and certainly took the home support by surprise, but the challenge was two-footed and saw Robinson spend several minutes on the sidelines recovering. The small but very vocal band of travelling supporters must have felt the worst as Clarke made his way down the tunnel. However, City rarely posed a threat despite being the strong side throughout the half, and the Sky Blues always looked dangerous on the break. The attacking edge that you would expect with a man advantage wasn't there, and the hosts still took a very cautious approach. Robert Earnshaw and Graham Kavanagh had City's best chances early-on, but City's passing was poor and there was little in the way in creativity. Cardiff got another stroke of luck just after the half-hour mark that would surely be enough to swing the game in the favour of the hosts. Daniel Gabbidon surprised the Coventry defence by breaking through, and was eventually hacked down by Calum Davenport as he charged down the left-hand side of the penalty area. The referee showed no hesitation in giving the penalty, and Irish international Graham Kavanagh stepped up. The City skipper's effort wasn't good enough though, with Coventry 'keeper Steve Sutton making a good low save clipping the ball onto the post, and them the Cardiff players in the penalty area just stood and watched the ball trickle along the goal line before it was cleared. The away fans bounced around the Grangend in delight, and their joy was also visible amongst the Coventry players who took a huge confidence boost from Kavanagh's miss. The second-half was a complete contrast to the first with Coventry taking the initiative and playing the better football early-on. Former Aston Villa forward Julian Joachim, who was playing up front on his own following Clarke's early dismissal which prompted Coventry boss Eric Black to shuffle his formation, caused real problems for the Cardiff defence with his blistering pace as the visitors created a number of chances. It was Joachim's pace that earned Coventry the penalty that would ultimately be the difference between the two sides. A substitution from Lennie Lawrence had seen Richard Langley replace Gary Croft, which left a huge hole in the City backline. Joachim exploited Lawrence's poor decision by finding the gap in the defence, and appalling defending from Vidmar and Gabbidon who both refused to tackle the oncoming striker, allowed him to charge into the box leaving Martyn Margetson no chance to rush out and attempt to grasp the ball. Sadly, his challenge was clumsy leaving the referee with little option that to award Coventry a spot-kick and dismiss the City 'keeper. Neil Alexander came on to replace Graham Kavanagh, who had a very disappointed day, and there was no better opportunity for the Scotsman to prove himself than by saving the penalty in front of him. Unfortunately, his first duty was to pick the ball out of the net as Gary McSheffrey struck a beautiful penalty into the top left corner, with Alexander diving the wrong way. Desperation saw Andy Campbell brought on by Lennie Lawrence, but the crowd were both shocked and annoyed by who he replaced with John Robinson being taken off by the City boss. Robbo was easily man of the match and one of the few players who have shown commitment on a terrible night for the visitors. Still, the change caused complete disorganisation on the pitch with no players quite sure what they were doing. Chris Barker ended up standing up front, Campbell was battling at the back, and Gabbidon was out on the right flank. It was a complete mess, and Lennie Lawrence has to be blamed as well as the players. The Bluebirds launched a late rally, but with players all over the shop the Coventry defence dealt with any attacks with comparative ease. City managed a measly two shots on target after Joachim's opener, and the Sky Blues looked equally likely to score the second goal of the game with any kind of a City defence non-existent. The full-time whistle blew to the sound of boos ringing round Ninian Park, with a large section of supporters calling for Lennie Lawrence's head. It truly was an awful display from Cardiff City. The other results see the Bluebirds fall to 14th in the table, and the issue of relegation was once again on the lips of the more pessimistic fans. Coventry rose 10th, and sit four points off the play-off zone. Full Time - Cardiff City 0-1
Coventry City Cardiff City: Margetson, Croft, Vidmar,
Gabbidon, Barker, Robinson, Kavanagh, Whalley, Parry, Lee, Earnshaw. Coventry City: Shearer, Deloumeaux, Clarke,
Staunton, Davenport, Grainger, Doyle, Warnock, Gudjonsson, McSheffrey,
Joachim. |