NOTTS COUNTY 2-2 COVENTRY CITY BY KEV MONKS
If you are one of those people who take stock of results of pre-season games,then you are likely to view the forthcoming season with a sense of foreboding after City failed to beat a team relegated to the bottom division of the Football League just over two months ago.
Fielding what looked to be the team that will face Sunderland on August 7 and with the fit again Tim Sherwood and Michael Doyle in midfield, the Sky Blues started brightly by taking the lead in the fifth minute. Bjarni Gudjonsson got the ball in midfield and sprayed it out to Graham Barrett on the left flank. The Irishman delivered a cross which looped off a defender,wrong footed County keeper Steve Mildenhall and fell for Eddy Johnson to stab in from four yards at the far post.
The oldest Football League club, managed by former City Reserves boss Gary Mills were certainly not the pushovers that Coventry had faced during their tour of Germany and in the 12th minute,a mistake by Johnson led to former Sky Blue David Pipe crossing for Gavin Gordon to blast over from close range. City's midfield looked in reasonable form playing some neat passing moves but in the 18th minute,a mistake by Gudjonsson led to the ball being played past a static City defence to David Pipe on the right of the goal. The Welshman rose to nod the ball into the path of Gavin Gordon who slotted past Scott Shearer from six yards. Much to the delight of the 400+ travelling Sky Blues support,City retook the lead just over a minute later when Gudjonsson advanced into space and delivered an unstoppable right footed twenty yard which flew past Mildenhall and high into the net.
Gudjonsson should have scored in the 23rd minute from a free kick but a poor effort was easily caught by the experienced home custodian. Just after the half hour mark,County attacked through Glynn Hurst who played a neat one-two with Pipe before firing over.
Now either Country were well up for this game or they might worth a few quid on being promoted as some excellent use of space down the left by Chris Palmer allowed the former Derby County trainee to get round the back of the City defence and cross for Gordon to fire wide.
City's defence has not looked so far this pre-season as resolute as manager Peter Reid who played for Notts County in 1994 at the end of his playing career would have liked and in the 37th minute,Calum Davenport, who a lot depends on this season,was muscled off the ball by Gordon who drove the ball low for Shearer to save with his feet. The ball was cleared away from danger to Tim Sherwood. The former England international sent a telling ball for Gary McSheffrey to run onto and hit a right footed effort which Mildenhall dived to his left to push away for a corner. Gudjonsson took the kick and the ball was cleared initially before being played back in for Sherwood to head over.
That was the last of Sherwood for the evening as he was replaced along with Richard Shaw,Michael Doyle,Graham Barrett,Gary McSheffrey and Eddy Johnson at the interval. With Con Blatsis partnering Calum Davenport in a defensive back four that included Steve Staunton and Louis Carey who looks set to start against Sunderland at right back despite it not being his usual position, City's defence looked shaky as County pushed forward.
In the 51st minute,Mike Whitlow raced through to stick out a foot but Shearer was equal to it and saved with ease.
However,four minutes later,City's number one was picking the ball out of the net as a mistake by Stephen Hughes led to a needlessly conceded throw-in. The throw was quickly taken and found Paul Bolland who nipped in to fire into the net from six yards.
Con Blatsis got forward in the 56th minute and found Dele Adebola who stuck out a foot to deflect the ball into the arms of Mildenhall. A low shot on the turn by Patrick Suffo followed as did a Bolland shot which was deflected for a corner. Julian Baudet met the flag kick with a thumping header which Shearer had to push over the crossbar for another corner. In the 64th minute,Carey at the far post got on the end of a ball which had been passed eight times before being sent over. The summer signing from Bristol City knocked the ball over to Dele Adebola whose header struck a covering defender and went out for a corner. Another recent acquisition - Stephen Hughes took the kick and delivered a ball which Patrick Suffo fired straight at Mildenhall.
Another City corner followed four minutes later after good work by Andy Morrell. This time, Gudjonsson's kick was punched clear by the County keeper. It went back to Gudjonsson who crossed for Davenport to knock down for Blatsis to fire over. A double County substitution by Mills brought on Stefan Oakes who was sent off in City's 6-1 win at Walsall in January and as he was sauntered over to take a 71st minute corner,he was roundly abused by the City followers for having lowered himself by playing for that team at the wrong end of the M69. Oakes' kick was cleared and City broke through Andy Morrell. The former Wrexham striker sent over a ball which Davenport jumped with along with the home keeper. When the ball came to earth,Dele Adebola was there to bang the ball into the net. The Nigerian was too busy celebrating scoring against a team he rejected (regular readers will remember that I recommended Adebola to Gary Mills at a City Reserves game last season), to notice that the assistant referee on the main stand side of the Meadow Lane ground was raising his flag a loft and the goal was ruled out by referee Frazer Stretton. It looked harsh,there was certainly no offside and I can only conclude that Calum Davenport, who was pictured with the City fans at Perl after the tournament victory, must have impeded the County keeper.
Reid took his tally of substitutes to eight when Carey was replaced by Andy Whing and Gudjonsson was replaced by Claus Jorgensen in the 74th minute. Nine minutes later,a Suffo through ball was met by Andy Whing who rifled a shot which Mildenhall had to push over for the first of two corners. As the game reached it's conclusion,shots by Suffo,Staunton and a late Adebola header did not unduly worry Mildenhall and it was the County fans in the 2,471 crowd who left the ground the happier.
HT NCFC 1-2 CCFC FT NCFC 2-2 CCFC
ATT 2,471
Goals Eddy Johnson (5 mins 0-1)
Gavin Gordon (18 mins (1-1)
Bjarni Gudjonsson (19 mins 1-2)
Paul Bolland (55 mins 2-2)
Man Of The Match - Tim Sherwood picked up the majority of the votes for his first half display.
TEAM
Shearer,Cary (Whing 74),Staunton, Gudjonsson (Jorgensen 74),Davenport,Shaw (Blatsis 46),Doyle (Wood 46),Sherwood (Hughes 46),Johnson (Adebola 46),McSheffrey (Suffo 46),Barrett (Morrell 46)