City's Cup Interest Over For Another Year

City: O'Brien , Grimmer, Thompson, Mason (McCallum 54), Williams, Jones, Shipley, Bayliss (Burroughs 63), Eccles, Ngandu, (Hickman 71)Bakayoko. Subs: Burge, Thomas. Stedman, Bremang, 

 

Cheltenham: Flinders, Forster (Hussey 53), Tozer, Boyle, Field, Broom, Atangana, Conor Thomas, Maddox (Alcock 53), Mooney (Addai 78), Barnett. Subs: Loveitt, Duncan, Jones, McAlinden.

 

Att 1,296

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Goals Jonny Maddox 34, Will Boyle 47

 

Coventry City's cup interest for the season ended tonight with a 2-0 defeat at Cheltenham Town in a Checkatrade Trophy First Round Southern Section Group E game.

 

The final group game in a competition which City won in 2017 and are more than capable of winning again, saw the Sky Blues travelling to Cheltenham Town, knowing that if they were up for it, a win would take them into the next round.

 

But being up up for it, which is unusual for an U23's team, was not on the cards and Mark Robins, who appears to be putting all his eggs in the basket of doing well in the league this season, named a team which was far nearer to the the U23's team which had drawn at Queens Park Rangers eight days ago than the one which had been beaten at Walsall in the FA Cup on Saturday and one within the rules of the competition.

 

There was a pretty decent turn out of City supporters in the stand down the side of the pitch and that included supporters from as far away as Southampton who saw Jordan Thompson at centre half alongside Morgan Williams captaining the side.

 

Cheltenham had the ball in the net in the fifth minute but the whistle had long gone for offside and City went up the other end with Jones firing wide fours minutes later.

 

The dancing feet of Jones won a corner for City who had Eccles booked.

 

In the 18th minute, Tyrone Barnett got in a great shot which O'Brien brilliantly one handedly pushed over for a corner that was taken by former City midfielder and Cov Kid Conor Thomas, who got some good applause from the 488 strong City support.

 

Some of City's passing was good and some was awful but they did fashion a move on the half hour mark which saw Jones firing not far wide of the goal at the Speedy Skips Stand which is actually a terrace, end of a ground known for the next three years as the Jonny-Rocks Stadium.

 

 

 

 

It was another Jonny who opened the scoring in the 34th minute when the ball was cut back and Jonny Maddox superbly smashed the ball from 12 yards past O'Brien after Field had got to a cross from Broom on the left.

 

Shipley blasted over after Bakayoko had put in a run for a City sdie which had Josh Eccles was often in the heart of defence filling in and trying to get City going forward.

 

Bakayoko sent the ball into the side netting before the half ended.

 

The City support sang "Go For It" as the second half kicked off with no changes but less than two minutes in and it was a second goal for Cheltenham Town when a Conor Thomas free kick came over and there was Will Boyle to send a looping header into the net.

 

Former City defender Chris Hussey came on to boos from some of the City support who saw Sam McCallum on for Brandon Mason.

 

Shipley blasted over again, as some of the City support in the left of the stand told Robins to "Sort It Out."

 

That sorting out amounted to Jack Burroughs coming on for Tom Bayliss, whose going through the motions was starting to rile some of the support.

 

Jak Hickman came on for the last twenty minutes in place of first team debutant Ngandu who had not had his best game for City like many of his team mates.

 

 

 

Plenty of City supporters were heading home as Hickman had a shot on target and McCallum was booked.

 

Thankfully, this exercise of getting first team minutes into young players which saw the Sky Blues failing to make the keeper have even one decent save to make, came to an end and City's cup interest was over for another year.