Coventry 1 Brentford 1

Slightly late putting this match report up, but it's getting harder to muster up the enthusiasm to bother. Normal service - or, much better service! - to be resumed next season ... if we still have a club.

Due to another cheap tickets offer (Thanks SISU!), I managed to persuade a dozen people who might otherwise have spent their Saturday afternoon at home, to go along to this match.

Aside from the nightmare that was not being sent the tickets after the club stated they would post them (Epic fail!), and instead having to collect said tickets (Ticket office closed!), the match wasn’t exactly worth it anyway, even after the discount.

Playing on a poor surface (Blamed on the lack of work carried out by ground-staff due to the off-field stupidity, yet still better than Doncaster’s pitch), decent passing and ball control was at a minimum.

With passing being off the menu for this fixture, set pieces were CCFC’s best hope of doing anything. Sadly, today’s selection was as dismal as the game itself – a game watched by CCFC’s potential new owner, Preston Haskell IV. Most attempts were nothing more than catching practise for Moore in the Brentford goal.

Ryan Haynes was given his debut for the home side, and, after a nervous start (Which apparently included throwing up on the pitch), improved slightly, though underlined the fact Blair Adams needs to return sooner rather than later.

Some claimed Brentford were the better of the two, though that’s like saying Hattie Jacques is better looking than Bella Emberg. Neither would threaten the Championship particularly if they gained promotion.

Coventry City’s Callum Wilson was booked for unsporting behaviour at some point during the 90 minutes (Which seemed like far longer), while Brentford’s players merely conceded free-kicks for hacking down Coventry players (Including a late hack at Callum Wilson). Only referee Mathierson’s inconsistency was consistent.

Carl Baker gave the home side the lead from the penalty spot just before the half-time whistle (CB being the first Coventry goal-scorer was a bit of a given, as most of the team don’t actually know where the net is), following a foul on Richard Wood.

The away side equalised within a minute of the second half, following dismal CCFC defending, with Harry Forrester benefitting from the footballing equivalent of the Keystone Cops.

Murphy had tried to gift Brentford the lead in the first half with similar stupidity, rushing out to a ball he was never going to win, and watching the ball sail over his head, and wide of the post.

Most managers are seemingly to defensively minded, or to attack minded – I haven’t yet worked out which Steven Pressley is, if any.

The removal of Moussa for McDonald left CCFC with Bell, Baker, Jennings and Fleck in midfield (The latter two also known as the ‘Pukka Pie Boys’ due to the extra pounds they carry), which is possibly the slowest midfield ever in the history of English football.

With less than ten minutes of the match left, a ten-second burst of ‘SISU Out!’ could be heard around the ground, with some supporters even clapping along. If that doesn’t ram the message home that the current owners aren’t welcome, nothing will. Yawn.

Aside from all of the above, it was noted by somebody that rarely attends football matches, and doesn’t really get a lot of what is going on, that Brentford, in their black strip, looked to have far more players than CCFC in their Sky Blue kit. Designers, take note….

TEAM: Murphy (GK), Christie, Wood, Martin, Haynes, Baker (c), Moussa (McDonald 73), Jennings, Fleck, Bailey (Bell 65), Wilson. Subs: Dunn, J. Clarke, Edjenguele, Thomas, Ball, McDonald.