COVENTRY CITY U23’S 6-3 CRYSTAL PALACE
City U23's: Trialist, Jak Hickman, Sam McCallum, Morgan Williams, Jordan Thompson, (Chris Camwell 94) Josh Eccles, Jack Burroughs, Zain Westbrooke, David Bremang, Jonny Ngandu (Lewis Green 61), Dexter Walters (Billy Stedman 51). Sub: Bouwe Bosma.
Palace; Webber; D. Boateng, Tavares (C), Woods, Mitchell; Kirby, Flanagan, McGregor; Williams, Lumeka, Baptiste. Subs: Henry, Dreher, Robertson, Hungbo, Street.
Coventry City U23’s ended their league matches for 2018 in dramatic fashion with a 6-3 victory over Crystal Palace.
On a sunny but cold afternoon at AHC, City after their 1-1 draw at Colchester United on Monday evening, fielded most of the team that played in that game.
In that game, Coach Jason Farndon has bemoaned about City not putting away their chances. However, after 100 seconds the Sky Blues were doing just when Dexter Walters on the left played the ball in to Zain Westbrooke and Jack Burroughs nipped into score and become the leading scorer for City U18’s and U23’s.
In the fifth minute, it was two when Walters was pulled down and Westbrooke stepped up to score from the resulting penalty.
City attacked again and in the 11th minute, they had a third goal thanks to a lovely run from Walters who played a short ball for Zain Westbrooke to run onto and hit a shot which flew into the net from 20 yards out.
Palace, coached by former City defender and Sky Blues legend Richard Shaw, pulled a goal back in the 16th minute with a shot from Kirby which went past the poor sighted City keeper.
The keeper did grow in confidence as the game went on with Sam McCallum, who had a superb game, playing the ball to Dexter Walters who hit a shot which was deflected into the net for what looked to be an own goal just before the half hour mark.
It was 4-1 at half-time but three minutes in and Palace pulled a goal back when Hungbo headed home.
In the 59th minute, out came City’s keeper and he brought down the Palace number eleven for a penalty. Kirby stepped up but the City keeper went the right way and saved well.
The fifth goal and the seventh of the match, came in the 65th minute when Jak Hickman went on his merry way down the right and made room to drive a shot into the far corner of the net.
Palace were not finished and a great move in the 76th minute, saw Lumeka score a third for the Surrey based side.
Neither were City and in the 83rd minute, Big Dave Bremang went charging into the area and was pulled down. The referee, who refereed the game with a sense of humour, gave City the penalty and Bremang duly dispatched the ball past the keeper who went the wrong way for City’s sixth goal.
The City keeper made a great save late on for the Sky Blues who gave outings to Billy Stedman, Lewis Green and the briefest of cameo roles to Chris Camwell and the present of a 6-3 win to take into the Christmas and New Year break.
Pictures CNS Sport.