Up To Sixth, Down To Eleventh....

By CovSid67
September 30 2006

This is getting way too boring: win at home, lose away, win at home, lose away. I'm hoping we discover how to cure our travel sickness before we lose that winning feeling at home, else we could be in for a real struggle this season....

The Coventry-Leeds game was apparently the last chance saloon for Kevin Blackwell. And so it proved to be.

McNamee came in for Whing, with Tabb replacing Thornton for the match against another side seemingly having some sort of jinx over us - the latter change seeming slightly harsh to some, though the decision was justified with a fine display from the young Irishman (Who was clearly knackered towards the end of his stint on the pitch!). Leon McKenzie was once again on the bench.

The home side created a few chances in the opening minutes, with Birchall's cross headed over the bar by Kyle, and Ward saw a header from a corner pick out the Leeds keeper Warner rather than the net.

A quick break from Leeds after eight minutes ended with a looping Healy header hitting the bar. The away side barely troubled Marshall and the Coventry defence for the next hour after that....

Soon after, Kevin Kyle produced two crunching challenges that resulted in free kicks, and either could have resulted in a card from a slightly pickier referee; he then hurled the ball in the general direction of the referee after a decision went against Doyle (Who was clearly kicked in the head by Nicholls, with the referee somehow seeing this as a foul by the Coventry player!), and was then booked for dissent! His response was to sarcastically applaud the referee - which some referees also see as a yellow card offence! Thankfully, he stayed on the pitch, despite committing so many offences in as many minutes!

Tabb and John then linked up well, with Stern John's cross seeing Tabb stick out a leg in an attempt to divert the ball past Warner, who managed to catch the ball at the foot of his left-hand post.

Tabb was then booked for a foul on Kelly, with the Leeds right-back using his experience to 'win' free kicks throught the match.

A poor Doyle miss was followed by a fine Coventry move involving McNamee, Hall, and Hughes, which ended with Tabb free in the Leeds penalty area. The youngster perhaps should have shot, but opted to pick out Stern John instead, and his effort just crept inside the post past Warner. 1-0.

Ten minutes before the break Butler was booked for a foul on Kyle. The Leeds player at first ignored the referees request for a 'chat', and was finally booked for the challenge when he did approach him. He then clearly showed dissent - against a referee that red carded Michael Doyle for the same offence last season - but the official bottled the task of red carding him.

Referee Williamson then awarded a free-kick for a non-foul by Hall, but waved play-on when Nicholls elbowed Hughes.

Kilgallon was booked for a foul on Stern John just before the break, with Kyle's blasted free kick being blocked, with Stern John offside while attempting to latch onto the rebound.

Half-time: 1-0.

With five minutes of the second half gone, a poor effort wide of Marshall's goal was celebrated almost as much as if it had been the equaliser, by Leeds supporters clearly fed up with their season already.

Kyle and Tabb then had 'falls' in and around the Leeds area, with the latters' loss of the ball resulting in a Leeds Breakaway, which ended with a fine save from Marshall.

Kyle then went on a superb rampaging run, but, with all the hard work seemingly done, he then trod on the ball, and the chance was lost.

Kyle was clearly pole-axed by a Leeds defender, but the referee opted to play the advantage .... in Leeds favour! They sped off down the pitch, and Horsfield looked sure to score, with only Marshall to beat. His touch was abysmal, and Marshall was able to make a brave save to deny Leeds an equaliser.

A 'tackle' from Douglas then left Doyle in a crumpled heap on the floor.

Tabb's run, followed by Kyle's cross, saw the ball end up at the feet of Doyle, who once again fluffed his shot, though did manage to win a corner.

McKenzie replaced John with 20 minutes left, and John was not happy! He stormed straight off down the tunnel, rather than staying to watch his team record another fine victory.

Hughes and Kyle then linked up well, with their efforts resulting in a cross that just eluded McKenzie.

Crainey was then booked by the referee, and from my vanatge point, unless I mis-heard, the Leeds supporters appeared to be calling for him to be red carded!!

Cameron replaced Tabb a minute later, with Tabb deservedly getting a generous round of applause.

Kilgalloin became yet another player that should have seen red but didn't, as he pulled McKenzie all over the place. The linesman was well placed to see the incident, but opted to ignore it, despite the fact there was no advantage for the home side. Seconds later, a nothing foul was given against McKenzie. (Note to Coventry supporters: applauding the linesman as he checks the nets before kick-off, and at half-time, appears to get him/them onside!).

The substitutes, Cameron and McKenzie, combined well in the 81st minute, with the latter seeing a fine effort saved by Warner. Cameron then had a shot that was diverted by Ward, but, with the keeper wrong-footed, his effort spun onto the netting at the top of the crossbar.

Robbie Blake, who always seems to do well against Coventry, replaced Westlake, and was given five minutes to rescue Blackwell's reign as manager.

Kyle was replaced by Hutchison with five minutes left, with Coventry City changing to 4-5-1 (Or 4-6-0!), and opting to hold onto what they had, rather than put the game beyond doubt. This made for a nervous last few minutes, but Coventry held on for a deserved win.

Victory saw Coventry City climb into the Top 6 - and long may they stay there .... well, until the next away game comes along anyway!

And so it proved to be....

The disgracefully excessive fee of £30 was charged to watch this fixture (So I didn't bother), which saw last weeks match-winner, Stern John, dropped/rested, with Leon McKenzie given his full debut.

What happened to that old adge of 'never change a winning side'?

There was a refereeing change for this match, with plenty of people probably quite happy to see Uriah Rennie replaced .... by anybody! Sadly, his replacement was probably worse.

As for the match, once again Coventry City were no worse than their opponents, but Palace were at least willing to shoot at goal, and Birmingham City reject Clinton Morrison's strike early in the second half proved the difference between the two sides.

A triple substition by Adams with just over 20 minutes left failed to have the desired effect, with John, Adebola, and Cameron replacing Kyle, McKenzie and Doyle. It was a stray pass from Cameron that led to more misery for Coventry City....

His short pass saw McNamee struggle to reach the ball and foul Morrison. For this, he was shown his second yellow card of the match - and rather obviously a red card too - and will now miss a match or two.

A late Marcus Hall effort hit the outside of a Palace post, and with that miss went any chance of a point (Or three).

Micky Adams trotted out the usual line of knowing what the problem is, and endeavouring to solve it, but said line is wearing slightly thin now....