Fourth Consecutive Clean Sheet For City

READING 0-0 COVENTRY CITY BY KEV MONKS

Date 11/12/10 At the Madejski Stadium

Coventry City made it four games without conceding a goal for the first time since 2002 with a 0-0 draw at Reading.

The roads were quiet as we got to the Madejski Stadium on the outskirts of Reading and found somewhere legal to park without having the pay up to £8 in car parks around the ground, before joining the rest of the Sky Blue Army in the away end.

 

As usual, it was a pleasure to catch up with many of our Southern based support with City fans from counties such as Kent, Essex, Sussex, London and The Home Counties in a City support that was officially recorded as being 1251 strong.

We made plenty of noise as an unchanged Sky Blues took the field against a Reading side that contained former loanee Matty Mills but not Jay Tabb who was on the bench.

Reading, on a cold, grey afternoon, came at City like a commuter train leaving their station and heading for London. The Royals are known for their ability to use the flanks to good effect and this was the case as Richard Wood and Richard Keogh came under a lot of pressure. However, whilst the crossing from Reading's wingers was top notch early on, their front two of Hunt and Long were not as sharp.

McAnuff forced Westwood in to a ninth minute save and two minutes later, supplied a cross for Long to head wide at the far post.

With the City defence static, Long poked wide and in the 14th minute, he went to the left and drilled wide from the edge of the area.

City should really have been 3-0 down but they were still very much in the match.

McSheffrey, who like the rest of his team-mates was prepared to get stuck in and battle even if the card happy referee at times was not best pleased, sent Platt away only for the former Colechester man's shot to be locked.

A low drive from Aron Gunnarsson, who had been hitting the headlines thanks to comments attributed to his father, was saved by Federici, who proved that he was one of a few Australians who can catch a ball.

Then in the 22nd minute, it was City who came the closest to scoring when Platt picked out Marlon King, another City player this week, filling column inches after he lost his appeal against his conviction. King thumped a low shot towards the goal. The City supporters minus one who had slipped in the stand and needed medical treatment for a cut head rose in anticipation, but the ball bounced off the home keepers right hand post.

A Gunnarsson cross led to a corner and a throw before Gary McSheffrey went down in the penalty area.

Nothing came from it and with King struggling to beat Reading's offside trap, there were no goals for the supporters to discuss at the break.

The first half belonged to the Royals but City, attacking the end where the City fans were, had more of the play in the second half.

City set their stall out early in the second half, winning three corners and a free kick inside the first eight minutes.

At the other end, Westwood who was not over-worked today, made a good reaction save before Richard Wood cleared off the line.

In the 66th minute, King, who was getting "He Scores Goals" chants from the City fans in response to the standard opposition chant of "She Said No Marlon", was sent to the ground but yet again, nothing was doing.

Reading boss Brian McDermott made a double change and with five minutes left sent on Jay Tabb, who clapped the City fans who had given him some good applause.

Jordan Clarke was given a run out before the four minutes of stoppage time saw a King free kick saved by the keeper and then the loose ball blocked.

Although there were no goals today, a point and a fourth clean sheet, compared to three successive defeats at the Madejski, was something to celebrate and we headed for home happy with a point.

Picture copyright of Covsupport News Service. Credit CNS/KM