NUNEATON TOWN 1-0 Abd 51 COVENTRY CITY
Nuneaton: Wren, John, Brown, Cowan, Dean, Streete, Walker, Armson, Zanni, Piyuka, Mekki. Subs Starosta, Quinn, Gordon, Franklin, Smith, Kavanagh.
City 1st half: Burge, Phillips, Webster, Urquhart, Pugh, O'Brien, Finch, Shipley, Swanson, Thomas, Maddison. Subs Lawton, Devon Kelly Evans, Haynes.
City Second Half: Allsopp, Willis, Clarke, Seaborne, Haynes, Dev Kelly Evans, Conor Thomas, Fleck, Lawton, Tudgay, Miller.
HT NTFC 1-0 CCFC
FT NTFC 1-0 CCFC
ATT 1690
Referee Wayne Barratt. Asst Ben Cooke & George Warren
Goals Gaz Dean 37
------------------------
Coventry City kicked off their pre-season campaign with an abandoned game.
After another summer of discontent and the Sky Blues seemingly to be at Sixfields for another season, the Sky Blues played their annual pre-season game at Nuneaton Town.
Included in those who have demanded a return to the Ricoh Arena, following the Trust’s successful march a week ago, was City manager Steven Pressley who started with a different set of players in each half and his first half line up comprised of a young side plus new boys Danny Pugh and Danny Swanson.
It was not the biggest turn out of City supporters at the James Parnell Stadium but those who were present, certainly made themselves known and welcomed City playing in last season's yellow kit on to the pitch.
City, playing 4-4-2, attacked the home end for the first half and immediately a neat flick from Danny Swanson started an attack which was cleared by Gaz Dean in the Nuneaton defence.
In the third minute and as some of City support were calling for the club's owners to go, the Sky Blues won a corner.
Two minutes later, following a free kick, Jim O'Brien fired wide and this was followed by Nuneaton winning a corner which only resulted in a foul on the orange topped Lee Burge.
The Conference side had three chances that failed to trouble Burge as the clouds loomed over the ground but in the 25th minute, good work from James Maddison won a free kick. O'Brien curled round the wall and James Wren dived to his left to push away for a corner.
Nuneaton went up the other end and won a corner which the City defence well marshalled by Urquhart and Webster.
Danny Pugh at left back did not put a foot wrong for a City side which fell behind in the 37th minute when a pointless free kick was taken by Mekki and fell for Gaz Dean to home after an initial save from Burge.
O'Brien had failed to impress early on and did little to change that with a 43rd minute that went well wide of Wren's goal. Aaron Phillips went equally wide a minute later but at half-time, City trailed.
As lightening and thunder rumbled round the ground and a male, who had been with Sandra Garlick, was taken out of the hospitality on a stretcher, City took to the pitch with a different set of players.
A storm soon had the fans in the main stand diving for cover as Conor Thomas got a 49th minute ball inside the area and stroked it on to Wren's right hand post.
Trialist Marcus Tudgay, in the pouring rain, won a corner but in the 51st minute, there was a storm not seen at a City game since the day's of Peter Reid in Gemuden and the crowd legged it for cover, the media tried to protect their lap tops and the players ran for shelter as bucket loads of rain came down and visibility was down to zero.
When the storm did eventually pass and some City supporters had had their fun diving on the pitch, there was so many puddles on the pitch when the referee inspected it, that it was clear that any further play was impossible and the game was abandoned.
Storm video - http://www.ccfc.co.uk/news/article/abandoned-coventry-city-nuneaton-town-friendly-190714-1770016.aspx