Coventry City in the 21st Century

[SBA]

MATCH REPORT from the CET

Saturday 28 August 2004

Watford 1

Helguson 68

CITY 0

City Suffer More Away Day Woe At Watford

A Heldar Helguson goal midway through the second half sent the Sky Blues stumbling to their second consecutive away defeat of the new season and helped the Hornets to their first victory.

In truth this was a dire game which, until Helguson's intervention, looked to have had 0-0 written all over it but the goal sparked City into life and they will feel as though they merited a score draw as they threw everything at the home side in the final twenty minutes.

Following the defensive nightmare at Bramall Lane SBA decided to revert back to having just Mark Goodman up front as he packed the midfield in the shape of Warnock, Cooney, and Craig Pead who was the surprise inclusion. He was asked to protect the back four and quietly went about his business in an effective manner for most of the afternoon.

Watford's efforts were predominantly from distance in the opening period with the only real scare for City coming when Danny Webber tried an ambitious lob after he had spotted Schmeichel off his line. The Dane was quick to back-track however, as he grasped the ball just before it crossed the line.

City were making it difficult for Watford and then trying to hit them on the break but Goodman looked ill at ease with what he was being asked to do. He was replaced by Suffo at half time with the substitute probably more suited to the job of holding the ball up and waiting for support, despite his significantly inferior goalscoring record.

Omar Daley also appeared for the second half in place of Osbourne.

The winning goal came about after a free kick was only partly cleared and when Schmeichel could only parry Webber's shot into the air, it was Helguson who reacted first to nod the ball home.

Watford were then immediately forced onto the back foot and SBA must now question whether he went into the game a little too conscious of his side's defensive weaknesses.

Tom Bates was having some joy on the City left and whipped over an inch-perfect cross for Davenport who saw a powerful header cleared off the line.

Suffo then got a glancing header onto Andrew Whing's long ball forward but saw it glide straight into the arms of the 'keeper.

As the game entered stoppage time the game was being played exclusively in and around the Watford penalty area but Watford held on to leave SBA pondering two defeats out of two on the road for his side.

He must somehow strike a balance between the defensive stability shown here, whilst not compromising the obvious goalscoring threat in his ranks.

City sink back into the bottom half of the table with this defeat and take on newly-promoted Brighton & Hove Albion next at Highfield Road.

MATCH DETAILS

Goal Attempts

Watford 10

Coventry City 3

Corners

Watford 2

Coventry City 4

[SBA]

SEASON 2004-05

REVIEW: August

Summary

City let out their frustration at being held to a goalless draw in their opening game by knocking three past Tranmere in the League Cup, but still needed a penalty shoot-out to advance to the next round.

Defensive naivety cost them dear at Sheffield United as they slipped to a 4-2 defeat before recording a welcome home victory over Portsmouth at Highfield Road.

They ended the month by slipping to a single goal defeat in a tight encounter at Watford.

Played: 4

Won: 1

Drawn: 1

Lost: 2

F-A: 4-5

Points: 4

League Position: 15th

Goalscorers (All Competitions)

Goodman 3, Best 2, Davenport, Suffo 1

September Fixtures

(h) Brighton & Hove Albion

(a) Gillingham

(h) Wigan Athletic

(a) Crystal Palace

(h) Cardiff City (LCR2)

Division One Update

Charlton Athletic, relegated from the Premiership last term, have set about securing an immediate return to the top flight as they lead the table at this early stage.

Blackpool have made a strong start to the campaign, despite pre-season predictions that they would struggle to adapt to life in a higher division.

QPR, also promoted from Division Two, were thought to be better equipped to deal with a Division One campaign. However they have failed to pick up a single point to date.

TABLE

Charlton Athletic 10

Stoke City 10

Millwall 9

Bradford City 8

West Ham 7

Blackpool 7

--------------

CITY 4

--------------

Wimbledon 2

Gillingham 2

QPR 0

[SBA]

SBA Talks Exclusively To FM Stories

Tuesday 31 August 2004

Following the hugely frustrating defeat at Watford, we must now look ahead to September, a potentially crucial month in the context of our season.

All four of the league opponents we face in the coming month are currently below us in the early league standings and we are aiming to lay the foundations for a successful season.

Four points from a possible twelve is not what we were looking for. It could have been seven from twelve with the extra two points we should have had against West Ham, and I believe we should have come away from Vicarage Road with a draw.

Despite the result, the game plan we had did work to a certain extent.

The statistics may show that Watford dominated for much of the match but we there was never a time when we were anything other than comfortable in defending what they had to throw at us.

I felt we were a touch unlucky with the goal that decided matters as Stephen Caldwell was caught out of position when the initial shot from Webber came in. He had taken a knock early on in the second half but we felt he could carry on and did not want to commit ourselves to making a third and final substitution with 40-odd minutes still to play.

However we were concerned at the lack of bodies we managed to get forward when we had the ball, which is key if a team is to operate the counter-attack successfully.

We will be working with the players in the coming weeks to try and strike on a plan for our tactics away from Highfield Road.

Next up are newly-promoted Brighton & Hove Albion, a side which bounced straight back from relegation the season before.

Whilst we are concerned at our away form, we have been more than happy with our level of performance at home so far. We are yet to concede our first goal at Highfield Road and it would be nice if we could string together a long unbeaten run.

SBA

[SBA]

MATCH REPORT from the CET

Saturday 4 September 2004

CITY 2

Cooney 3

Goodman 43

Brighton & Hove Albion 1

E Hammond 75

Nervy City Sea Off Gulls

City deservedly hung on to claim their second win of the season despite the south coast visitors' surge to steal a point late on.

The Sky Blues could have gone into half time four or five goals clear but were denied by the acrobatics of Ben Roberts in the Albion goal. With the game seemingly long since won, City's fans were forced to endure a jittery finale to the game after seeing their side concede for the first time at Highfield Road this season.

Isaac Osbourne was replaced in favour of David Pipe who made his first appearance of the season on City's right. Osbourne was introduced from the bench in the second half after the fast-emerging Sean Cooney took a knock to the shin.

SBA saw his side start the game with plenty of fire in their collective belly and, after forcing Brighton into retreat straight from the kick-off, took the lead as early as the third minute.

Mark Goodman picked out Pipe in plenty of space and, with the inhabitants of the penalty area expecting a cross, he squared it for COONEY who saw Roberts only manage to get fingertips onto his curling effort. The ball had just enough pace on to bounce over the line before anyone could react.

After netting his first ever goal for the club, Cooney could have doubled his tally on two separate occasions as the half wore on. He fired the wrong side of the angle before seeing another effort palmed away by Roberts.

City seemed to be unstoppable for the opening half hour with Suffo and Bates also going close. However this game was to follow the pattern set by many that preceeded it in that City were not able to sustain the very high level of performance they had managed during the early stages.

Brighton did not look like troubling the scorers at the other end but it did seem as though they were going to escape with a flattering one-goal deficit at the break.

Roberts had been excellent in the Seagulls' goal but then showed a terrible lack of judgement in rushing out of his penalty area in an incident which led to City going two up.

Davenport launched a long ball forward towards Suffo but Albion defender Virgo seemed to have the situation under control. The sudden appearance of Roberts on the scene caused Virgo to panic and this allowed Suffo to get a toe to the loose ball. Fortunately for City the ball ran perfectly to GOODMAN who stroked the ball into an empty net for his fourth goal of the campaign.

In shark contrast to the first half, the second saw a tame affair being played out with Brighton appearing glad to avoid further punishment and City happy enough to be on their way to a much-needed three points.

Brighton were showing signs that they could threaten but when dangerman Leon Knight had to be withdrawn from the action it looked as though City were home and dry.

Goodman, again looking weary, was replaced by Leon Best but City were stung moments later as the visitors got themselves an unlikely lifeline after Elvis Hammond crashed a header into the top corner with fifteen minutes to play.

The travelling fans suddenly began to find their voices and a number of misplaced passes from those in Sky Blue followed, leading to a tension-filled end to a game City should have had won by half-time.

Loanee Schmeichel didn't let his trusting manager down as he produced a couple of noteworthy saves to preserve the Sky Blues' lead.

Suffo should have wrapped matters up in a frantic finish but the relief around Highfield Road was tangible at the final whistle with City climbing into the top half of the table with this result.

Sean Cooney was excellent in the first half and Andrew Whing once again proved why he has been attracting Premiership attention as he dealt expertly with the threat of on-loan Johnnie Jackson on the visitors' left.

City have now taken 7 points from 9 at home but are still in search a first point on their travels. Wednesday night sees them make the long journey to Gillingham who are currently 16th in the Division.

MATCH STATS

Goal Attempts

Coventry City 10

Brighton & Hove Albion 4

Corners

Coventry City 5

Brighton & Hove Albion 1

[SBA]

MATCH REPORT from the CET

Wednesday 8 September 2004

Gillingham 3

Lisbie 62, 85 (pens)

Spiller 64

CITY 1

Suffo 10

City Pay The Penalty At The Priestfield

For the second successive season, the Sky Blues squandered a lead on this ground as they went down to a third away defeat in three.

A quickfire Gills double midway through the second half reversed City's early advantage given to them by Patrick Suffo before the home side were awarded a second penalty to seal the game five minutes from time.

SBA again went a lone frontman, dropping Mark Goodman to the bench, and bringing in Craig Pead as the extra body in midfield.

After a quiet opening City took the lead thanks to the chasing and persistence of Suffo who, four days earlier, had created a goal for Goodman in similar fashion.

A simple square pass by a defender was intercepted which enabled SUFFO a clear run on goal to give his side a 10th minute lead.

SBA's game plan appeared to be bearing fruit with Gillingham struggling to find a route to City's goal, while at the other end David Pipe was again enjoying his license to get forward on the right hand side.

Tom Bates again found it difficult to make an impression, however Nosworthy excelled at right back for the home side and, on this evidence, it would be no surprise were he to be lured away from The Priestfield in the near future.

Schmeichel had made a couple of comfortable saves for City before the game was turned on its head in the space of ninety seconds.

Andrew Whing was guilty of a trip inside a crowded area to allow Lisbie to strike a low drive for the Gills' equaliser.

City were left cursing their luck moments later as a speculative effort from Danny Spiller was cruelly deflected beyond the wrong-footed Schmeichel to give Gillingham a most unexpected lead.

SBA reacted by introducing Best and Goodman and the game became stretched with City rapidly absolving their defensive responsibilities.

Stanford curled a free-kick just wide but City were not finding it easy to create a much-needed goal before Best was adjudged to have handled in the area from a long Gills throw-in.

The decision looked harsh but when Lisbie helped himself to a second goal from the spot it was all over for City. The travelling support were left to trawl back to the midlands from deepest Kent reflecting on another frustrating away-day in the knowledge that their side must find a way of turning this form around if they are to challenge for a top six spot this season.

City drop back to 15th in Division One with this result and now have a 10-day break from fixtures.

MATCH STATS

Goal Attempts

Gillingham 9

Coventry City 3

Corners

Gillingham 3

Coventry City 2

[Trigz]

City crap away from home. Who says CM doesn't reflect reality eh?

[SBA]

To Be Continued ...

Too much effort has been put into this to just let it fade away

Hopefully back up and running tonight

[loyalwolvesfan]

Could do with an update mate - its one of the best stories on here, but from what I hear you need to 'get well soon' first.

[SBA]

A scare which thankfully passed

[SBA]

SBA Talks Exclusively To FM Stories

Friday 10 September 2004

Another week into the season and still we are not able to reflect on a favourable result away from home.

Having gone in front at Gillingham we were always likely to come under threat during the second half as they bombarded our penalty area with increasing regularity.

I thought we coped well until the crucial penalty award - many of their attempts were from considerable distance and many of their deliveries into the area were more in hope than expectation.

We were not about to qualm about the decisions the referee made to turn the game Gillingham's way. One of the features I've noticed since we've been in this Division has been that the decisions really do tend to even themselves out over a season. We've been the welcome recipients of such interventions on many occasions over the last few years.

Our record now reads 7 points from 6 games with all seven of those points gleaned at Highfield Road.

We played well on Saturday and merited the victory but as a manager I have to be asking myself why it was that we didn't finish with a greater margin of victory.

With no fixture this weekend I'm going to get myself actively back into the marketplace as we scour for personnel to improve the squad.

The football we can play has to be amongst the best on show in this league, but in a 46-game season it can often be more about mental and physical strength than technical ability. Our performances have appeared to dip in the latter stages of recent games - and the points we have dropped as a result may cost us dear in the final reckoning.

SBA

[SBA]

SKY BLUE NEWS

Tuesday 14 September 2004

SBA Still Seeking Sonko

City manager SBA has not given up hope of signing long-term Senegalese target Ibrahima Sonko.

Brentford have been approached once again with a bid from the Sky Blues but are reluctant to let such an influential presence leave the club.

* Torquay United's central midfielder Lee Canoville is also being tracked around the lower leagues by the City scouting team.

[SBA]

MATCH REPORT from the CET

Saturday 18 September 2004

CITY 1

Pipe 68

Wigan Athletic 0

Pipe Lights Up City Amongst Sadness For Sean

The Sky Blues will be relieved to edged their way to another home victory on a day that was completely overshadowed by the depressing news that promising midfielder Sean Cooney had suffered a broken leg during the first half.

Ironically the injury occurred following a 23rd minute challenge with former Sky Blue captain Mustapha Hadji, who had joined the Lancashire outfit on a free transfer from Aston Villa in the summer. It is not clear at this stage whether Cooney will again be available to turn out for City before the end of the season.

SBA made just the one change from the side that lost at Gillingham with Craig Pead making way for Mark Goodman.

City had an early chance to go ahead as Goodman robbed an Athletic defender but David Pipe was foiled by 'keeper Rhys Jones after a first-time snapshot.

The Sky Blues' ordinary start to the campaign was reflected in the stands and an attendance of under 13,000, with a small away following, meant there was very little going on off the field to spur on the players.

Midway through the first half came the major talking point of the afternoon, and unfortunately for all the wrong reasons.

It must be said that no blame could be attached to Hadji, who had endured a mixed reception on his first appearance back at Highfield Road, as he collided with Cooney in centre field.

Both players were focussed on a high ball as Hadji appeared to leap before Cooney had got himself airborne to challenge for the ball.

There was a lengthy delay before Cooney was stretchered from the field to warm applause.

City's worst fears were confirmed after the game - Cooney had suffered a broken leg.

Graham Barrett replaced Cooney but the rest of the half passed with little action worthy of note. Mark Goodman saw a 30-yard drive clear the bar with the lively Nathan Ellington being well marshalled by Davenport and Caldwell at the other end.

The afternoon could have turned even bleaker for manager SBA as the second half got under way.

Athletic emerged from the break in a far more positive frame of mind and City had Schmeichel to thank for saving from Jason De Vos' header following a corner.

Much of the game was being played in City's half but just as the faithful threatened to turn nasty on their side they found themselves cheering a goal.

Eddie Stanford, who produced another solid display, picked out Suffo with a long diagonal ball which was flicked into space on the right.

David Pipe got in front of his marker and just as he looked set to cross the ball he tried a surprise shot to the near post. The ball looped into the air after hitting Evans' knee and the pint-sized PIPE was bright enough to leap up and nod the ball into the net.

In fairness to City they looked a different side after scoring. Leon Best came on to replace Suffo and stretched a tiring Wigan defence in the closing stages. With any luck his persistence could well have produced a second goal.

So City move up to 11th with this result but SBA knows that he has lost a key figure in his Sky Blue jigsaw, and a player who had improved significantly in the time he has been in charge.

City are not short of numbers in midfield but the impact of this injury is still likely to be felt in the months ahead.

Crystal Palace are City's next opponents at Selhurst Park in seven days' time. They have had a poor start to the season and are a lowly-placed 21st.

MATCH STATS

Goal Attempts

Coventry City 8

Wigan Athletic 2

Corners

Coventry City 8

Wigan Athletic 4

[SBA]

CET Feature

Monday 20 September 2004

"No Hard Feelings": Hadji

Former Sky Blues captain Mustapha Hadji was quick to wish City youngster Sean Cooney all the very best on his long road to recovery after his involvement in Saturday's leg-breaking incident.

Speaking in the Player's Lounge after the game the Moroccan explained there was no malice involved as he jumped with Cooney for a loose ball.

"I have instructed for a card to be sent to Sean at the Hospital with my well wishes. I hope Sean is back playing as soon as possible", said Hadji, who was making a first return back to Highfield Road since leaving in the summer of 2001.

"I noticed the fans were not as welcoming as I would have liked, maybe they think I am to blame for Coventry's relegation, I don't know".

Hadji, playing wide on the right, had a quiet game for Wigan on Saturday. He did not endear himself any further to the home fans in the unfortunate circumstances which led to Cooney's injury.

Former African Footballer of the Year Hadji mainly played through the centre in his time with City, and seemed frustrated on Saturday at his lack of involvement in the game.

"I prefer playing centrally but I think the manager moves me out wide because the pace of the game is very quick and there is not much time on the ball. I am considered quite old at 32 but it seems you need to be fitter than ever to have a big influence now, and this league is very fast-paced".

The 32-year old said he was likely to see out his playing career at Wigan but went on to wish the Sky Blues all the best for the remainder of the season.

Adam Dent, CET

[SBA]

SBA Talks Exclusively To FM Stories

Wednesday 22 September 2004

We can only hope that young Sean Cooney goes on to make a steady recovery.

He has age on his side and is certainly one of the physically fittest players at the club, which can only play to his advantage over the coming months.

He had already forced himself to the forefront of the first team reckoning with some performances which showed maturity beyond his years this season.

I felt that the game on Saturday was already quite flat before the incident and to see a player stretchered off in such obvious agony will naturally have an affect on the players out on the pitch.

It has to be said that Wigan looked the more likely winners at the time of our goal but David Pipe is another of our promising crop of youngsters and he produced the match-winning moment for us.

I think we now need to look at strengthening by bringing in at least one more forward and defender.

There is not really adequate cover at the back should we run into problems with either Stephen Caldwell or Calum Davenport. I do not want to have to ask Andrew Whing to move to centre half again, as he played too many games there last year. Right back is his specialist position and his level of consistency in that role is such that we must give it every chance of continuing.

Crystal Palace await at Selhurst Park on Saturday and they will be anxious to kick-start their season as they surprisingly hover just above the relegation places at present.

As I've said before, points on the road are crucial if we're to push for the top six this term so both teams will be out to prove a point.

Coventry teams have always seemed to maintain a good record playing at Selhurst Park, whether it be against Palace or Wimbledon.

On a personal level it will be back to the ground where it all started for me as manager. A 1-1 draw was the outcome in my first game in charge there last August.

SBA

[SBA]

MATCH REPORT from the CET

Saturday 25 September 2004

Crystal Palace 0

CITY 2

Bates 16

Suffo 23

Slick City In Selhurst Stroll

The Sky Blues recorded their first away victory of the 2004-05 campaign in convincing fashion at Selhurst Park this afternoon. Two goals in the space of seven first half minutes proved decisive as City climbed to ninth in the Championship table.

This fine away win must go down as the highlight of the season so far with City never seriously threatened by a struggling Palace side clearly low on confidence.

SBA replaced long-term injury victim Sean Cooney by giving a start to Graham Barrett in central midfield in the only change from the Wigan game.

We looked set for an afternoon devoid of entertainment in the early exchanges with a weak Mark Goodman header being the only noteworthy opening for either side.

With Palace in desperate need for a result of any kind and City without a point to their name on their travels all season the first goal was always going to be critical. So it proved as City scored it and from there they never looked back.

Goalkeeper Schmeichel smacked a huge kick to the right wing where the ever-improving David Pipe controlled the ball elegantly and advanced to the touchline. He checked back inside as a defender approached and lofted a high ball beyond the main bunch of players who had gathered in the middle.

Emerging at the far post was BATES who planted a header back across the 'keeper for the City opener and a timely first goal of the season for the left-winger.

City were quick to pounce on the home side's obvious anxiety and produced a lovely move to double their advantage soon afterwards.

Andrew Whing clipped a through ball down the inside right channel for Goodman who slid the ball inside for the unmarked SUFFO who helped himself for number two.

Having made such a dream start against a side in such turmoil it was clear that City understood the importance of going on to take the win.

They were superior to Palace in all departments with Calum Davenport absolutely immense at the back. David Johnson suffered a torrid afternoon in which nothing seemed to go right for him and he was substituted in the second half.

Goodman could have made it 3-0 on the half-hour but was denied by an excellent last ditch tackle as he advanced on goal.

Confirmation that Palace were going to have to wait another game before turning around their wretched form came in the shape of a Neil Shipperley miss. He blasted over from eight yards out when it looked easier to score.

Having got through to half-time with the two-goal cushion intact City were content to frustrate Palace in the second period.

Apart from a couple of free-kicks which drifted off target Kasper Schmeichel was untroubled in notching his second clean sheet in succession.

If we were splitting hairs then it could be argued that Mark Goodman, having missed another good opportunity to increase the winning margin, will be unhappy at not having added to his tally for the season in a game where City enjoyed so much of the play.

After a difficult week this was a morale-boosting three points then for City who now embark on a very busy spell. They face Cardiff City on Tuesday night in the League Cup before making the westward hop across the midlands to play sixth-placed Wolves at Molineux next Saturday.

MATCH STATS

Goal Attempts

Crystal Palace 3

Coventry City 5

Corners

Crystal Palace 1

Coventry City 3

[Terk]

story of the week

[loyalwolvesfan]

Couldn't be more deserved.

Laid out fantastically, and easy to read.

SBA

[SBA]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by loyalwolvesfan:

Couldn't be more deserved.

Laid out fantastically, and easy to read.

SBA <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Thanks for your loyal support

[bjorn]

Well deserved indeed

[James M]

SBA in doing something good shocker

[SBA]

SKY BLUE NEWS

Monday 27 September 2004

SBA Joy As Dolan Ditches The Den

Coventry City today confirmed the signing of 24-year old Northern Ireland central defender Joe Dolan from Millwall.

SBA has, thus far, searched up and down the country for a capable defender to strengthen his squad - but without it ever having borne fruit.

"We were all becoming frustrated at the situation. The squad has looked very light in defensive areas and we didn't want to go through another season of mixing and matching with the current personnel. Joe's arrival will signal a greater edge in competition for places and should push the current players on a few gears".

"Calum Davenport picked up a knock at the weekend and has been ruled out of tomorrow night's game. With no suitable cover we are going to have to ask Andrew Whing to move inside to centre half. Having attracted the interest of a couple of Premiership clubs based on his performances at right back the last thing we want to be doing is unsettling such an asset to the club".

SBA's first choice was known to be Brentford's Ibrahima Sonko but, despite several enquiries, was forced to turn 180 degrees whenever he made his intentions known to the Bees' management.

"We have been aware that Joe Dolan has been unsettled at Millwall for some time. Despite his credentials his chances there have been limited in recent times. When he went on loan to Ipswich we continued to keep tabs on him and it's fair to say that he hasn't let anyone in Suffolk down. When Ipswich made it clear that the loan deal was predominantly to cover for some long term injuries within their squad we were encouraged to make our move".

Dolan will not join up with City until late November.

An initial payment of £100,000 has been agreed between the two clubs, with a further £100,000 payable after he has made a certain number of first team starts for the Sky Blues.

[SBA]

MATCH REPORT from the CET

Tuesday 28 September 2004

League Cup Second Round

CITY 1

Daley 41

Cardiff City 1

Langley 38

Coventry City win AET & pens

Wasteful City Prevail On Penalties

The Sky Blues finally advanced into the last 32 of the League Cup but, for the second successive Round, needed the drama of a penalty shoot out to keep themselves in the competition at Highfield Road last night.

On a blistering autumnal evening, SBA must have been grateful that his side were not playing for league points as he saw his side fail to take countless presentable opportunities, before the Bluebirds survived to take City into extra time.

With the trip to Molineux on Saturday in mind, SBA took the chance to rest a handful of his first team regulars with Leon Best given a start up front, Geoff Pitcher returning to the midfield, and Stuart Giddings coming in at left back.

However it was Jamaican international Omar Daley, who had thus far failed to stamp any kind of authority on the games in which he had featured, who came out of this long evening with the most plaudits. His confidence levels visibly soared as he dragged City level, and he went on to cause the Welshmen's defence problems for the remainder of the game with his bewildering trickery.

Both sides were slow to make an impact early on with a long range Osbourne effort flying just wide midway through the first half.

The majority of the game was played out in driving rain and a swirling wind. Credit most go to the small but vociferous travelling Cardiff contingent for inducing atmosphere on such a dismal night.

They were dancing in celebration on 38 minutes as their side took the lead with their first meaningful effort on goal.

Stephen caldwell was adjudged to have pushed Alan Lee on the edge of the box and Richard Langley curled the free kick into the top corner with Schmeichel motionless in the City goal.

The Sky Blues were level very shortly afterwards.

Bates and Giddings traded passes on the left before the former crossed low into the box where DALEY whipped in a crisp first time shot which beat Alexander at his near post.

The sudden influx of goalmouth activity really pepped up City who really should have taken the lead even before half time.

Mark Goodman, given the nod in the hope that he can soon rekindle his lethal touch from last season, skyed a close range shot when he should have done better.

Geoff Pitcher then played a neat one-two with Best but was foiled by Alexander.

City kept up the momentum early in the second half with Daley clearly in the mood and instrumental in carving holes in the visitors' defence. However Danny Gabbidon was immense at the back and it needed his intervention of several occasions to prevent City running out comfortable winners.

At the other end Earnshaw's pace was always a threat but he was often left isolated by a defensive minded midfield five.

SBA had given starts to several players short on match fitness and, with the game going the extra half hour, he will be keen to ensure that there were no injury casualties from this game. Calum Davenport may struggle to be fit for the weekend, leaving the manager short of bodies in defence but Whing and Caldwell appeared to come through unscathed.

As the game went into extra time it was still City taking hold of possession but the chances dried up somewhat and before long it became apparent that this tie was heading for another shootout.

Daley coolly converted City's first spot kick and when Langley and Earnshaw, who was brilliantly thwarted by Schmeichel, proceeded to waste Cardiff's first couple of efforts, City were home. Pead, Bates and Barrett were the other successful takers for the Sky Blues.

So the Sky Blues go into the Third Round draw but SBA will be keen to see his side build on the excellent league win at Selhurst Park as they face Wolves at Molineux on Saturday.

MATCH STATS

Goal Attempts

Coventry City 14

Cardiff City 3

Corners

Coventry City 10

Cardiff City 4

[SBA]

SBA Talks Exclusively To FM Stories

Thursday 30 September 2004

An excellent week on and off the field to conclude September.

Our first away league victory was almost six months in coming last season, and so we were delighted to record such a convincing win at Selhurst Park on Saturday.

Palace have not lived up to expectations so far but to pick up a win on their home patch is nonetheless very satisfying.

Our record on the road will be the difference between mid-table obscurity and a genuine promotion push, and there were too many occasions last term where we headed back to the midlands without reward.

Success in cup competitions breeds confidence. Following a second successive penalty shootout in the competition, we can now look forward to hearing our name emerge from the hat in the draw for the Third Round of the League Cup.

There were noteworthy performances from recent recruits Leon Best and Omar Daley, and I am hopeful that they can provide sufficient competition to the established Goodman-Suffo partnership up front.

However the best news of the week came off the field with the news that we had secured the signature of Joe Dolan.

Our lengthy search to add depth in defensive areas has now seen us take Stephen Caldwell and Dolan (joining in November).

In an ideal world Dolan would have been with us pre-season but, following his unsettling time at Millwall, I expect a player of his class to come straight into the first team reckoning when he joins us.

Whilst a manager's search for new talent never completely subsides, I must say that with this recent addition to the squad I feel we are now in an excellent position to have a good season. We certainly have more competition for places than at any time I can remember during my stint at the club.

The weekend sees us go to play Wolves who are currently where we want to be, in sixth place in the Championship. It will be a stern test and we will need to show the discipline which reaped such welcome reward at Crystal Palace.

SBA

[UBoy 2001]

its back

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

[Wimb The Barman]

Great read from start to finish, what happened to SBA? any chance of a revival?