TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 3-0 COVENTRY CITY
Murphy (GK), J. Clarke, Edjenguele, Wood, Adams, Moussa (Barton 49), Bailey (Thomas 58), Jennings (Fleck 70), Baker, McSheffrey, L. Clarke. Subs: Dunn (GK), Cameron, Christie, Thomas, Elliott.
Tottenham Hotspur: Friedel (GK), Dempsey, Huddlestone, Caulker, Naughton, Parker (Dembele 80), Bale (Townsend 69) Dawson (c), Sigurdsson (Carroll 79), Assou-Ekotto, Adebayor. Subs: Lloris (GK), Vertonghen, Lennon, Defoe.
HT THFC 3-0 CCFC FT THFC 3-0 CCFC
ATT 35,766
Goals Clint Dempsey 13 & 36,Gareth Bale 32,
Referee M.Naylor
Booked Bailey, Baker
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Coventry City players can hold their heads up for a good performance but they went out of the FA Cup with a 3-0 defeat at Tottenham.
By train, plane, coach and automobile, over 5,000 Coventry City season ticket holders, members and fans made their way to North London for this FA Cup Third Round tie.
Of course, any FA Cup tie involving Coventry City and Spurs evokes memories of May 16th 1987 and players from both sides in that game won by City 3-2 after extra time, had been consulted by the media for their view.
In order to keep this nostalgia going or to sell a few kits according to a Mark Robins joke, City took to the field in their retro 1987 FA Cup Final kit which they lost in last season when it was introduced for the Southampton FA Cup tie.
At a proper football ground which only has around 4,000 more seats than the Ricoh Arena and is one that will become vacant when the new stadium next door gets built , Mark Robins made three changes with Jordan Clarke coming in, along with James Bailey and Leon Clarke against a full Spurs side.
The atmosphere from both sets of fans was superb as the game got underway. Spurs won the first corner in the fifth minute but James Bailey got stuck in as did Richard Wood in Spurs next attack.
Spurs won a corner and then City did in the ninth minute.
In the 13th minute, City went a goal down when Clint Dempsey got on to a Bale flick and looking suspiciously offside and scored from close range.
Joe Murphy did well under pressure, punching away when he needed to and getting down to a Kyle Naughton shot in the 17th minute and covering a Bale shot which went wide two minutes later.
Blair Adams made some good great tackles but he could only look on, in the 32nd minute when Dempsey hit a deflected shot and Gareth Bale , whose quality was there for all to see, tapped in at the far post.
Four minutes later, with the gulf in class and league positions between the two sides beginning to tell, the Spurs fans were shouting "Easy" when Clint Dempsey was left totally unmarked and sent a looping header into the net from a corner.
City did have a few attempts on on goal and one came in the 39th minute, when a corner gave Brad Freidal an easy catch. Coventry got the ball back and Steve Jennings fired wide.
Another corner followed in the 42nd minute but all that brought was a free kick to Spurs for handball.
Half time came as a welcome relief and saw Gary Mabbutt get a massive ovation from the City fans when he was introduced to the crowd.
City attacked the South Stand where we were for the second half. However with Spurs making sure that Leon Clarke on his first start for the Sky Blues was kept in check early on, changes needed to be made.
In the 49th minute, Mark Robins decided to change things round when he sent on Adam Barton for Franck Moussa.
Nine minutes later, Conor Thomas was sent on for James Bailey who had put in a decent shift and was taken off more as a precaution than any injury worry.
Carl Baker had been booked for his third foul, when he was involved in a 63rd minute move which saw Leon Clarke drill wide from inside the area.
Thomas had a shot blocked for a corner and when McSheffrey's flag kick came in and William Edjenguele had a header scrambled away by Freidal and the Spurs defence.
Murphy made a good save to deny Bale in the 68th minute before the Welsh international was substituted, moments before John Fleck joined the action at the expense of Steve Jennings.
City battled away, keeping the shots from the visitors down to a minimum, although Townsend did hit Murphy's left hand post with three minutes left.
In stoppage time, Gary McSheffrey, playing the ball off a defender, had the ball in the net from a Thomas cross but the assistant on the main stand had his flag up and City went out of the cup with a 3-0 defeat.