Battling City Out Of FA Youth Cup
Last updated : 07 December 2005 By Kev Monks
MANCHESTER CITY YOUTH 3-2 COVENTRY CITY YOUTH BY KEV MONKS
A battling Coventry City Youth team gave Geoffrey Robinson some good reasons to retain the Academy and Reserves but it was not enough to stop the Sky Blues from going out of the FA Youth Cup.
Brian Borrows kept faith with the majority of the side that had drawn at Watford on Saturday for what was a massive game for the whole of the Academy which is under the threat of being axed as part of Geoffrey Robinson's restructuring process.
Until that decision comes ,life has to go on and at the Regional Athletics Arena next door to the highly impressive City of Manchester Stadium,Micky Adams and Alan Cork along with Jonny Tuffey and Kevin Thornton were in a crowd of 336 to see City on the attack winning a second minute corner which Ange Lorougnon fired over.
Manchester City, who have Tim Flowers on the bench as a coach, took the lead in the sixth minute. An attack by Kelvin Etuhu down the left forced Cameron Belford to come out and block the ball. It rebounded across the face of the goal for Danny Sturridge, who was on City's books to tap into the empty net.
Both sides won corners with Belford doing well to punch away a 26th flag kick. The Sky Blues nearly equalised two minutes later when an Andy Gooding free kick was nodded goalwards by Rikki Bains. Lawrence Matthewson dived to his left to make a terrific one handed save on the goal line.
Eight minutes before the break,Belford made another good stop when he denied Etuhu with his fee. Seconds later,he could only watch as a long ranger from Sturridge crashed against the foot of the post.
Etuhu smacked a post three minutes in the second half. Adam Layfield raced upfield from the resulting goal kick and was brought down on the edge of the area.
Andy Gooding curled the place kick a yard the wrong side of the post. In the 53rd minute,Layfield turned defender to clear an Etuhu shot off the line.
Three minutes later,Manchester City went further ahead with a stunning over head kick from twenty yards by Micah Richards. This was gritty stuff from the Sky Blues and they pulled one back in 57th minute when Vijay Sidhu sent a low drive from the edge of the area flying into the net. Paul McCrink was sent on to aid the attack.
But in the 66th minute,the home side restored their two goal advantage when Richards knocked down a corner, Aaron Stringfellow cleared off the line and Kelvin Etuhu rammed the rebound into the net.
In the 75th minute,Coventry were awarded a penalty when Vijay Sidhu was brought down. Andy Gooding stepped up but Matthewson was equal to it,diving to his right to push the ball round for a corner.
Matthewson saved again with his feet from the corner from a Sidhu toe-poke. In the last minute,City were awarded another penalty when Ange Lorougnon was sent crashing. This time,Adam Layfield took the kick and slammed it into the net.
Coventry may have gone out of the FA Youth Cup at the first time of asking but it was not for the want of trying.
HT MCFC 1-0 CCFC
FT MCFC 3-2 CCFC
ATT 336
Goals
Sturridge (6),Richards (56),Sidhu (57),Etuhu (66),Layfield (pen 89)
Team
Belford,Duggan (McCrink 58).Layfield,Hildreth (Obadeyi 81),Turner,Bains, Gooding, Stringfellow,Sidhu,Lorougnon,Kelly
Subs Collett,Burtoft,Jones
Manchester City
Matthewson,Obeng,Logan,McDonald,Richards (Williamson 72),Marshall,Williams, Johnson,Etuhu,Sturridge,Moore
Subs C.Evans,Vadon,S.Evans,Vidal
