LEAMINGTON FC 4-1 COVENTRY CITY VETS X1 BY KEV MONKS
Newly crowned Midland Combination League champions Leamington FC commemorated the opening of their new club house with a 4-1 victory over a City veterans X1.
With Brakes boss Jason Cadden giving most of his players who achieve promotion to the Midland Alliance an outing, the Sky Blues field a number of players who had taken part in the Micky Gynn Testimonial just less than a fortnight ago and Steve Ogrizovic,Micky Gynn,Trevor Peake,Dave Phillips,Brian Borrows,Cyrille Regis and Dave Bennett all started the game watched by a good crowd of 786.
The Harbury Lane club took the lead, in this forty minutes each way affair, in the tenth minute when Ryan Howells headed on from a free kick. The ball took a deflection off David Titterton and went in past the wrong footed Ogrizovic.
In the 25th minute,Stuart Herlihy doubled the tally heading home from a corner.
Josh Blake has been banging the goals in for the last couple of seasons for Leamington but was stopped from scoring just before the interval when his eight yard shot was kicked off the line by Micky Gynn.
Former Sky Blues Robert Betts was just one of a number of players used in the second half and the defender was caught as Josh Blake got through to stroke the ball home from yards six minutes into the second period.
Five minutes later and with City down to ten men after Micky Gynn had limped off with a hamstring pull, Richard Adams round Ogrizovic to add a fourth.
These was some comfort for the good following of City supporters and included one from Bulgaria whom we introduced to Gary McSheffrey and Craig Pead, when Dave Bennett nipped in to score from eight yards in the 57th minute.
City Academy Director Steve Ogrizovic lasted for an hour before former Coventry Sphinx and Bedworth manager Marcus Law took over.
The current Racing Club Warwick boss who will face Leamington next season, raced out to block Blake as he bore down on goal in the 67th minute but could only watch as Blake struck the underside of the bar four minutes later from close range.
By the final whistle,the City vets were a well beaten side on what was an enjoyable day.
HT LFC 2-0 CCVETS FT LFC 4-1 CCVETS
ATT 786
GOALS Ryan Howells (10)
Stuart Herlihy (25)
Josh Blake (46)
Richard Adams (51)
Dave Bennett (57)
CITY
Steve Ogrizovic,Les Robinson,Tom Cudworth, Micky Gynn, Trevor Peake,David Titterton, Dave Phillips, Brian Borrows,Cyrille Regis, Dave Bennett,Paul Culpin
Subs Used
Marcus Law,Robert Betts,Dean Anderson,Don Harris,Rob Claverly,Howard Rayburn
Anyone wishing to sign the petition to make the 87 team Honourary Freeman Of the City of Coventry can sign the petition on the Sky Blue Trust website www.skybluetrust.co.uk
Anyone wishing to sign the petition to make the 87 team Honourary Freeman Of the City of Coventry can sign the petition on the Sky Blue Trust website www.skybluetrust.co.uk