COVENTRY CITY 1-2 CARDIFF CITY BY KEV MONKS
Date 19/10/10 At THE Ricoh Arena
Team
Westwood, R.Keogh, Cranie, Wood, Turner, Gunnarsson, McSheffrey, Clingan, Carsley, Platt, Jutkiewicz (King 70) SNU Ireland, Doyle, Baker, McIndoe, O'Donovan, Cameron
Cardiff
Heaton, McNaughton, Naylor, Hudson, Gyepes, Bellamy (A.Keogh 81), Burke, Chopra (Koumas 71), Olofinijana, Bothroyd, Whittingham SNU Marshall, Rae, McPhail, Blake, Wildig
HT CCFC 1-1 CCFC FT CCFC 1-2 CCFC ATT 14, 604
Goals Peter Whittingham (4 pen), Gary McSheffrey (43), Jay Bothroyd (85)
Referee James Linnington Booked Turner, Clingan
Man Of The Match Aron Gunnarsson took the votes with nominations for Platt, Cranie and Turner
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Coventry City did not get the rub of the green from referee Mr James Linnington and went down to a 2-1 defeat to Cardiff City at the Ricoh Arena.
All the pre-match hype had been about one man - Craig Bellamy and the poisonous dwarf, who once whilst at Coventry phoned his agent up at 2am to ask how to change a light-bulb, was included in a match against City for the first time since his departure to Newcastle in 2001.
This hype and Cardiff selling 1300 tickets and then having supporters having to go in the home ends as no tickets for visiting supporters were allowed on the day, plus the excellent performance on Saturday at Ipswich, made for a bigger gate than had been at the Doncaster game three weeks ago.
Bellamy, who is reportedly on £87k a week of which Cardiff are paying £20k was loudly booed by the City supporters who, had been searched to ensure they were not bringing in any weapons which could have been used on the Welshman, cheered an unchanged Sky Blues starting eleven onto the pitch.
Just over two minutes and forty seconds into the match, there was more boos from the Sky Blues support when Peter Whittingham went down when under the close scrutiny by Ben Turner. Whittingham appealed and the next thing, the assistant referee Mr Heywood on the Tescos Stand side had his flag across his chest and when asked to do so, he informed the referee that he thought it was a penalty. Turner, like the City support looked decidedly unhappy as he went into the book.
Nuneaton born PETER WHITTINGHAM stepped up and beat Westwood from the spot and it was Cardiff who were ahead.
The Assistant on the Main Stand side Amy Fearn, whom you will remember from the Forest game last season, got a throw-in decision wrong and it was a pity that she was not in charge of the game as that was the only mistake she made all game.
Whilst Bellamy was met by a torrent of hatred from the City supporters, the usual abuse metered out to former Sky Blue Jay Bothroyd on his visits to the Ricoh Arena was normal football banter and in the 17th minute, he was denied what looked even more of a penalty than the decision that had put the Bluebirds ahead.
Martin Cranie had Chris Burke in his back pocket for most of the match and this allowed the left back to get forward. Straight after Cardiff not being given a second penalty, Cranie drew an excellent save from the lime kitted Tom Heaton with a low drive which won City a corner.
Aron Gunnarsson worked hard, always looking and wanting the ball, whilst Carsley did the tackling and Clingan looked to play in McSheffrey or Richard Keogh.
Up front Clive Platt was a massive aerial threat to the Cardiff defence. They struggled to get near Platt when the ball was in the air and if he had been able to get the touches and angles he wanted, his fellow front runner Lukas Jutkiewicz, who had to come deep on numerous occasions, would have had a far busier game.
Mark Hudson had headed wide from a corner and Clingan sent a corner at the other end into the side netting before a collision between Chopra and Keogh delayed play a little.
Then two minutes before the break, Coventry conjured up a goal out of nothing to get back in the match. Gunnarsson, played a superb ball out to GARY MCSHEFFREY on the left. He took the ball inside the area and cut through to send the ball into the bottom corner of the CT Stand net from about twelve yards out.
With Cardiff able to break up the play and with players going down like they had been shot, any hope of the Sky Blues being able to play some fast flowing football in the second half was not possible.
Bellamy, who spent most of the second half, walking round the pitch, had the City supporters jeering when he back- heeled the ball out for a throw when led to Richard Keogh being sent crashing in the penalty area and Mr Linnington not even listening to appeals for a penalty.
A Richard Wood header in the 56th minute from a McShefffrey corner drew a save from Heaton before the Tescos Stand and CT Stand joined in for a massive chorus of the Sky Blue Song.
City by now were showing some real fight and spirit but unfortunately, they were creating nothing in the final third of the pitch, so Aidy Boothroyd sent on Marlon King for the final twenty minutes.
King, like any player who is miles off full match fitness, will always be a passenger that a side like Coventry City cannot afford to carry. Tonight, he brought nothing new to the table and his one major chance saw the former Wigan player giving Heaton the easiest of catches.
As expected, Craig Bellamy did not last the whole game and in the 81st minute, he went off to be replaced by Andy Keogh and some more verbal outpourings from the City supporters.
City had been worth a point but five minutes from the end of normal time, any hope ended when Chris Burke got past Cranie and crossed for JAY BOTHROYD to slot past Westwood.
City should have had a penalty in stoppage time when Richard Wood was taken down in the area but again, Mr Linnington looked the other way and Cardiff were the ones with the points.