COVENTRY CITY 0-1 SWANSEA CITY BY KEV MONKS
Date 22/08/09 At The Ricoh Arena Championship
Team
Westwood, Wright, Cranie, Turner, van Aanholt, Osbourne (Cork 64), Gunnarsson, Clingan, McIndoe (McKenzie 85), Best (Eastwood 84), Morrison. SNU Konstantopolous, Clarke, Cain, Grandison,
Swansea
De Vries, Rangel, Monk, Tate, Dyer, Britton, Orlandi (Lopez 69), Gower, Dobbie (Pintado 75), Bond (Morgan 64). SNU Cornell, Collins, MacDonald, Painter
HT CCFC 0-0 SCFC FT CCFC 0-1 SCFC ATT 16,307
Referee P.Crossley Booked Best, Britton, Tate, van Aanholt,Rangel, Clingan
Man Of The Match Stephen Wright took the votes from Ben Turner and Martin Cranie
________________________
Coventry City missed a penalty and lost their first league match of the season to Swansea City 1-0 at the Ricoh Arena
This was a day where City supporting fallen soldiers Sergeant Simon Valentine, Lance Corporal James Fullarton and Fusilier Louis Carter were remembered with a very moving minutes applause.
It should have been a minute's silence but both sets of supporters started clapping with the players and match officials joining in to remember three brave lads who sadly will never be amongst our ranks again.
There were tears amongst some of the City support as the Sky Blues fielded the same team, which played ninety minutes at Doncaster on Tuesday night.
Both sets of players plus the stewards who were busy along with the police dealing with some of the Jack army in just after the match kicked off, wore black armbands.
Swansea attacked the CT Stand for the first half and although he was the smallest player on the pitch, Nathan Dyer was the most effective for the visitors. He caused the City midfield a number of problems with his running and passing through out the match and won a fifth minute corner.
City as in previous games looked good in spells. In the tenth minute, an Osbourne cross was fired just wide by Leon Best. Then a good run by Osbourne led to a throw in.
The City supporters clapped as Aron Gunnarsson took the throw. He sent it deep into the box and the ball was prevented from going any further by the hand of Andrea Orlandi.
Referee Mr Crossley needed no persuading and awarded the penalty. Sammy Clingan opted to take it. He fired it low to De Vries right but it was wide of the mark. About twenty feet to be precise and the groans went up as the ball hit the Tescos advert at the Jewson Stand end.
A lovely 16th minute Wright cross was met by the head of Leon Best, who has been called up for the Republic Of Ireland's World Cup game in Cyprus but he headed straight at De Vries.
Swansea may have changed their manager but their good style of passing football continued whilst City started to rely on the counter attack as their method of going forward.
Too often, City looked to pump balls high into the area, only for the visitors to easily deal with the situation. Tate and Gary Monk looked vulnerable when the ball was on the floor in the penalty area but were not tested enough.
Even a 57th minute Leon Best free kick, which worked so well at Barnsley seven days ago went into the wall.
So it was time for a change and Chris Coleman who had not been getting the same adulation he received from the supporters of his home town club last season, mainly thanks to an article which said he would not manage Swansea for family reasons, made it bringing on Jack Cork.
Cork, son of former City Reserves boss Alan was signed yesterday from Chelsea, who could possibly be loaning us Joe Cole as part of his rehabiltation, if you believe training ground whispers and showed a few nice touches when he came on in the 64th minute.
I was now thinking it was not going to be our day after seeing my mate Ray from Ireland. Ray is a lovely fella and has been following City for years but everytime he comes to a game, City lose.
And so it proved. Swansea had a corner and then got the ball inside the area in the 68th minute. Leon Britton fired a shot, which, Keiren Westwood pushed onto the bar. When it came down, it fell for Ashley Williams who drove it low into the net.
The Swansea fans went mad and the police and stewards got involved with some of their supporters.
Still time to get something out of this, we thought. Jack Cork tried his luck from twenty yards with twenty minutes left but De Vries got it.
City continued to look for a way past the organised visitors who were intent on stopping Gunnarsson, Clingan and McIndoe from playing.
With six minutes left, Freddie Eastwood was sent on and a minute later, the City supporters were on their feet to applaud the welcome return of the contract seeking Leon
McKenzie who came on and won a corner straight away.
De Vries took it very easily and City were unable to offer any more of a threat to the visiting goal and went down to a 1-0 defeat.
| 