COVENTRY CITY 2-2 CRAWLEY TOWN
City: Murphy, B.Adams (Haynes 86), Webster, J. Clarke, Willis, Christie, Thomas, Fleck, Baker (C), Daniels (Slager 71), Moussa (Barton 86). Subs: Burge, Phillips, Garner, Maund.
Crawley Town: Jones (GK), Sadler, Connolly, McFadzean, Alexander. (Proctor 78), Drury, Simpson (Torres 78), Walsh, N.Adams, Tubbs, Jones. Subs: Maddison (GK), Hurst, Essam, Sinclair, Smith.
HT CCFC 1-0 CTFC FT CCFC 2-2 CTFC ATT 2128
Goals Matt Sadler OG 40, Andy Webster 80, Jamie Proctor 83, Andy Drury 85
Referee J.Linnington Booked Moussa.
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Coventry City let a two goal lead slip and were pegged back to a 2-2 draw against Crawley Town.
On a bitterly cold afternoon at Sixfields at the end of a week when talk was of Arsenal, a new stadium and one possible locaation, Coventry City took on Crawley Town.
Injuries or Leon Clarke being left out as Wolves are after him if you believe certain rumours, meant that Steven Pressley, who took in the Northampton V York game yesterday, had to make two changes and Jordan Clarke and Conor Thomas started.
With neither of his two front runners available, Jordan Clarke went up front with Franck Moussa and was involved straight away having a shot blocked, watched by a number of scouts, Gary Parker, Micky Adams, two thousand City supporters, 192 Crawley fans and sixteen City supporters on the hill.
In the third minute, Cyrus Christie weaved his way into the area and fired across the goalmouth, just missing the touch it needed and five minutes later, the defender worked with Fleck to set up Baker to fire wide from the edge of the area.
With Pressley and Macfarlane deep in conversation and Gregory berating his players for a mis-placed pass, Christie, who was having a stormer, cut through to win a 16th minute free kick. Baker took the kick and had it blocked and the ball went for a corner.
City were passing the ball round well and looking to get forward. Carl Baker went wide with another effort and in the 23rd minute, the midfielder played the ball over to Billy Daniels who cut back over before being tackled. The ball came back to Baker for a 25 yarder which flew well wide.
The pressure from the Sky Blues continued with Jordan Clarke, who was battling well as against the more than capable Kyle MacFazdean, rifling a shot over in the 27th minute.
The game needed a goal and it came in the 40th minute when a rare Crawley shot was sent wide by Nicky Adams. City went up the other end and won a corner thanks to some hard work from Franck Moussa and there was Andy Webster at the far post to get in a header which came off a Crawley defender and went in to give City the lead.
Crawley responded with Gary Alexander missing with a free header and Matt Tubbs firing over but it was the Sky Blues who led at the break.
What noise there was, had come from the City supporters but in the 51st minute, Tubbs flashing a shot wide induced some singing from the fans of the Sussex based club, now in their third season as a Football League club.
Baker had a tame shot at the other end before Crawley won a 53rd minute free kick which Thomas cleared away.
On a pitch which was cutting up quite bad, Fleck, Daniels, Baker. and Thomas worked hard in the midfield area, which for the first twenty five minutes of the second half was where the majority of the football was played.
In the 70th minute, Nicky Adams put over a cross and it took a great defensive header from the solid Jordan Willis to clear for a corner.
It was time for a change and Denzel Slager came on for Billy Daniels and went up front with Clarke, who had worked hard for little reward.
Alexander headed wide and MacFazdean drew a wonderful save from Murphy, diving to his left to push away the header from the defender. City attacked and won a corner. As the ball came over there was Franck Moussa to scramble home. However, the assistant had already indicated that the ball was alreadt over the line and it was Andy Webster who had given City a 2-0 lead.
No side being two goals up with ten minutes to go, should not take anything less than the full three points. However, Crawley, who been a lot better in the second half, took a leaf out of City's book in the last two away games at Rotherham and Barnsley and came back with a ball from the left being superbly headed home by substitute Jamie Proctor and two minutes later, following a corner, they levelled when the ball was banged in from six yards by Andy Drury.
The Sky Blues, who had Barton on for Moussa, who was given a stern lecture by Steven Pressley as he left the pitch, had two corners as four minutes were added on but Coventry City are really going to have to pull something special out of the bag if they are to make the play-offs now after dropping two more points.