Team
Schmeichel,Fox,Osbourne (Hines 73), Osbourne,Fox, Dann, Ward, Doyle,Tabb, M.Hughes (Thornton 59),S.Hughes, Mifsud,Best. SNU Marshall, Hall,Gray
CHARLTON
Weaver,McCarthy,Holland,A.Gray,Varney,Boughera,Halford,Youga,Basey (Iwelumo 69),Shelvey (Powell 84).Thomas (Wagstaff 63
SNU Randolph, Sodje
HT CAFC 2-1 CCFC FT CAFC 4-1 CCFC
Goals Varney (4),A.Gray (18),Mifsud (19),Basey (49),Powell 85)
Ref A.D'Urso
Booked Best
Att 26,310
Man Of The Match Carlo Nash or Every City supporter who went
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STARTING LINE UP
Chris Coleman kept the same team that had drawn with Wolves.
Best
Tabb Doyle S.Hughes Mifsud
M.Hughes
Fox Dann Ward Osbourne
Schmeichel
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CITY SUPPORT
What a turn out. You know the old song "City Here,City There", well this was a case in point. 3208 in the South Stand and countless others all over the ground. Supporters had flown in from all over the place.
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Coventry City are in the Championship for another season after Carlo Nash performed heroics to send Leicester down.
The atmosphere as the City support was superb especially in the pubs before we made our way into a smartly redeveloped Valley Stadium. The singing was excellent but all we got for our hard work, effort and expense was an abomination of a performance.
City,who will be in Scandinavia for pre-season, were a goal down in less than four minutes when Luke Varney was given tons of space by Fox and Dann,who again displayed that they are a long way from the finished article that any Premier League club would want to buy. Varney was given the freedom of the Valley and as Kasper Schmeichel came out,not as quick as he should have done,Varney lobbed him and watched the ball bounce into an empty net.
Varney did not even celebrate the goal but in the 18th minute,the Charlton support were on their feet when a flick by Varney landed for Andy Gray to drive in.
City had passed the ball quite nicely but had done little in the final third. However,a minute of the goal, they pulled one back when Tabb played in Mifsud who netted with a low drive into the corner for his first goal in 25 league matches.
Michael Doyle was always busy whilst Stephen Hughes,who will probably leave after the club delayed offering him a contract.,lost as much as he won.
Charlton,with the excellent Youga and McCarthy easily dealing with Leon Best and occasionally Tabb plus Mifsud,controlled the game and it was only thanks to an excellent Isaac Osbourne tackle and a Ward header that City were not down as we headed into the break.
The half-time scores elsewhere meant that the Sky Blues were safe but four miinutes into the second half, City looked like relegation favourites when Charlton added a third.
Again,Kasper Schmeichel should have done better with a weak punch that fell for Grant Basey to ram home.
Thankfully,things elsewhere were going our way with Leicester still drawing and Sheffield United equalising at Southampton.
"We are staying up" sang the City support as Zavon Hines was introduced to the attack.
Kevin Thornton had already come on but there was nothing he could do as so many City players were by now preparing for their holidays and clearly could not give a toss about the club or the support,who had spent a lot of time and effort for this game and throughout the season.
Back at Stoke,Carlo Nash was making some great saves as Charlton brought on Chris Powell.
This must have been Powell's last game for the Addicks as he got a standing ovation from the home fans who went ballistic a minute later.
Fox and Dann failed to prevent a 84th cross and there was Powell with the simple of task of stroking the ball into the net which he did before celebrating with the fans at the opposite end.
The final whistle went and the City players were deservedly booed off after this 4-1 defeat. Many headed for the tunnel before coming back onto the pitch when the score from Stoke came through that the Sky Blues were safe only because Leicester failed to win.
And so thankfully another season is over and we can put this nightmare to bed.
Thanks for reading my reports, thanks to everyone who has helped me get to all the matches this season and see you next season.