COVENTRY CITY 2-1 OLDHAM ATHLETIC
City:Murphy (GK), Adams, Edjenguele, Wood, Christie, Jennings (Elliott 54), Bailey, Baker (c), Fleck (Moussa 57), McSheffrey (Thomas 86), Clarke. Subs: Dunn (GK), J. Clarke, Cameron, Bell.
Oldham Athletic: Bouzanis (GK), Grounds, M'Voto, Croft (Sutherland 77), Simpson (Taylor 64), Smith, Byrne (c), Baxter, M'Changama, Wabara, Mellor (Brown 77). Subs: Cisak (GK), Tarkowski, Millar, Winchester.
HT CCFC 0-0 OAFC FT CCFC 2-1 OAFC
ATT 10,108
Goals Stephen Elliott 61, Matt Smith 88, James Bailey 90 +4
Referee L.Collins
Booked Smith, M'Voto, Grounds
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Coventry City came back to snatch victory from the jaws of a draw in a late 2-1 win against Oldham Athletic at a snowy Ricoh Arena.
With John Ledwidge and his groundstaff doing a superb job, City's game against Oldham beat the couple of inches of snow that had fallen in Coventry and went ahead.
There was not a big turn out of City fans but it did include one of my best mates for whom this was his 750th consecutive home game, those who turned out on a freezing afternoon, saw a City side with James Bailey back in midfield and former Sky Blue Robbie Simpson starting for Oldham.
With the stadium lights melting the snow on the roof, City attacking the away end, got straight to it winning a corner. Oldham did the same with Mellor's inswinging flag kick being cleared.
Gary McSheffey sent over one bad cross and one good one before Murphy used his legs to good effect in the 16th minute to thwart the lanky handful that was Matt Smith, who spent the game involved in a ding dong of a battle with William Edjenguele.
In the 20th minute, the City fans were howling at referee Lee Collins, who had missed so much during the draw at Swindon earlier this season when Smith elbowed Edjenguele and was only cautioned.
City's best chance of an insipid half, not helped by lone forward Leon Clarke being in the back pocket of M'Voto, came when a Fleck shot was cleverly pushed over for a corner by Bouzanis.
A goal may have stopped some of the City support especially in the East Stand from whinging every time there was a poor pass or the likes of Baker shot very well wide.
Blair Adams who completed his move to City on Thursday was his usual handful and worked well even fashioning a shot over before a drab half ended.
There was a lively start to the second half with Carl Baker working well to feed James Bailey who fired well wide.
In the 54th minute, Stephen Elliott was sent on. Robbie Simpson fired just wide and then Franck Moussa joined the action.
McSheffrey sent a free kick just wide of the right hand and when City attacked again in the 61st minute it got the crowd of 10,108 singing as Stephen Elliott was on the spot to head the Sky Blues ahead from close range.
The goal certainly raised the noise from the City fans and had Oldham boss Paul Dickov forced to take off Robbie Simpson, who left to good applause from the City fans.
At the other end, Joe Murphy continued to make good saves, dealing with a break away and the corner his save to his right brought.
In the 76th minute, Edjenguele got in a header, so did Elliott but Bouzanis on the line somehow got the ball, which looked to be mostly over the line, out of the goal and away.
As the stewards charged into stand where the 378 Oldham fans, who were not as entertaining as the feral kids and their sweet throwing antics had been at Boundary Park back in September, were, Mr Collins continued to annoy the City fans with some of his decisions.
Richard Wood had a header from a Baker corner pushed over for another two corners which, was inter-spaced with Conor Thomas coming on for Gary McSheffrey.
Now, I had been saying to those I sit with at home matches for the last fifteen minutes that Oldham were capable of getting something and in the 88th minute. The Latics won a corner and Matt Smith scored.
Some City fans walked out thinking that the Sky Blues had thrown away another victory as four minutes of stoppage time were shown.
The words of the Sky Blue Song remind us that ‘we fight til the game is won’ and this is something Mark Robins, Steve Taylor and Darren Robinson have taken to heart and instilled in the players and in the fourth minute of time added on, the ball was headed out by an Oldham defender to James Bailey to hit a shot from twenty yards and City were 2-1 winners.