COVENTRY CITY 2-4 CRYSTAL PALACE BY KEV MONKS
Coventry City put in one of the worst first halves of defending in living memory to go down to a 4-2 defeat by Crystal Palace.
Micky Adams, who accused City supporters of expecting too much from his side in this morning's local paper, made four changes from the side that had drawn at Bristol City.
With Ben Turner who played well at Ashton Gate dropped, Marcus Hall was back in at right back whilst Adam Virgo switched to centre half. Stephen Hughes replaces the suspended Michael Doyle with Jay Tabb came in for Colin Cameron with Stern John taking over from Dele Adebola up front.
Michael Mifsud had received international clearance following his mid week move from Lillestrom and took his place on the bench along side loanee keeper from Weymouth Aaron Lee Barrett.
Against a Palace side missing former City player James Scowcroft, the Sky Blues had all the play for the first eighteen minutes. Three corners were won whilst Stern John fired wide from a sublime cross from the left by Marcus Hall.
In their first attack in the eighteenth minute, the Thornton Heath based club got through the City defence thanks to a through ball finding Carl Fletcher. The former Bournemouth striker raced onto the ball, beating Adam Virgo in the process and toe-poked it past Luke Steele into the far corner of the net.
Back came City and Kevin Kyle, in his best game for City, rose to head a McKenzie cross onto the bar.
Had it gone in,it would have changed the course of the game but following Robert Page picking up another booking. Palace went further ahead in the 25th minute.
This time,the visitors backed by 1,300 supporters won a free kick on the right flank. Mark Kennedy sent the ball over, the ball flicked off Adam Virgo's boot and up into the air for Shefki Kuqi to head the ball into the net with Luke Steele stood firmly on his line.
The boos from the City supporters were greater than the cheers from the away supporters and I could clearly hear chants of "Adams Out"
With no bite, the midfield quartet of Jay Tabb and Stephen Hughes, Leon McKenzie and Isaac Osbourne were doing plenty of running but allowing themselves to be easily tackled and with the central part of the back four all over the place, it was no surprise when Palace went three up in the 27th minute.
A corner for the visitors was half cleared to Jobi McAnuff who crossed from the left for the unmarked Leon Cort to head home.
Weather wise, this was a cold and miserable afternoon in CV6 and after conceding three goals in nine minutes for the second game in a row, this was getting more miserable by the minute.
Chants of "What A Load Of Rubbish", saw Stewards drafted in, to protect the pitch from a rumoured invasion aimed at removing Micky Adams from the club.
Kevin Kyle might be twice up before the beak in a couple of months time but again the Scot was first to a 35th minute corner and headed onto the far post.
In the 38th minute, Palace added a fourth when Jobi McAnuff was left unmarked to head home from a Green cross from the right.
A number of supporters left their seats, some headed for the bars on the concourses but others left the stadium completely, deciding they had seen enough.
To be honest, I couldn't blame them and the thought of getting some warmth on a windy afternoon was for the first time in a very long time beginning to cross my mind.
The thought left my head as quickly as it entered and I stayed in my seat and watched as the City players suddenly found the urgency to get back into the game. A minute before the interval, we finally had something to cheer when Leon McKenzie ran through to slot the ball under the under worked Scott Flinders.
Just before the whistle was blown by referee Mr Laws, Mark Hudson missed from close range with an easy header.
The hapless Adam Virgo was replaced by Chris Birchall at the break as Adams changed the whole lot round. Marcus Hall took over at centre half with Birchall at right back and Whing at left back. Stern John dropped into midfield with Leon McKenzie going up front.
In the 57th minute, City scored again thanks to Kevin Kyle heading in from close range following a McKenzie cross that Stern John helped on.
This lifted the crowd who started to encourage the players on the pitch. Whilst most were hoping that a third and fourth goal for the Sky Blues followed, the police were called into the CT Stand with one ejection.
There was now twenty minutes remaining and so Michael Mifsud took his Coventry City bow. Leon McKenzie was clapped off with the cheer for the Maltese international a lot louder.
Mifsud's arrival at the Ricoh Arena had been well hyped up by certain areas of the local press and the striker, a hit with supporters of Kaiserslautern's A team took his time to get used to the pace of Championship football.
Mifsud fired at the keeper at the CT Stand end when he turned his marker outside the area in the 83rd minute. It was one of a few touches he had but it showed some promise.
Unfortunately, Mifsud or any of his team mates could find the net and City went down to another defeat.
HT CCFC 1-4 CPFC
FT CCFC 2-4 CPFC
ATT 16,582
Goals Carl Fletcher (18), Shefki Kuqi (25),Leon Cort (27), Jobi McAnuff (38), Leon McKenzie (44), Kevin Kyle (57)
REFEREE G.Laws BOOKED Page (22)
TEAM
Steele,Whing,Page, Virgo (Birchall 46),Hall, Hughes,Osbourne,Tabb,McKenzie (Mifsud 70), Kyle, John SNU Lee Barrett,Adebola,Turner
PALACE
Flinders,Lawrence,Ward,Hudson,Cort,McAnuff, Freedman (Ifill 65),Kennedy,Fletcher, Green (Soares 75), Kuqi SNU Wilkinson,Morrison,Butterfield