COVENTRY CITY 3-1 ALDERSHOT TOWN BY KEV MONKS
Team
Ireland, Wright,Fox,Dann,Turner,Beuzelin,Eastwood,Gunnarsson (Doyle 90),Mifsud,Morrison,Simpson (McKenzie 68). SNU Marshall, Ward,Borrowdale,Birchall,Walker
Aldershot
Bull,Strousta,Blackburn,Charles,Soares (Mendes 84),Grant,Morgan (Hylton 67) ,Howell,Donnelly (Chalmers 67),Hudson,Harding SNU Jaime-Ruez,Day,Newman,Elvins
HT CCFC 1-1 ATFC FT CCFC 3-1 ATFC ATT 9,392
Referee J.Singh Booked Gunnarsson,Wright,Hylton
Goals Clinton Morrison (30), Scott Donnelly (37), Robbie Simpson (58 & 65)
Man Of The Match A hard decision but Robbie Simpson took the votes from Gunnarsson,Beuzelin,Eastwood, Dann and Ireland
__________________________________________________________________________
WEATHER
Heavy showers all night meant weather wise it was a miserable evening.
_________________________________________________________________________
STARTING FORMATION
City boss Chris Coleman was forced due to injuries and bugs to make a number of changes to the side that beat Norwich on Saturday. Danny Ireland was given his debut in goal, Ben Turner came into defence with Robbie Simpson and Michael Mifsud on the midfield flanks.
______________________________________________________________________
Coventry City celebrated their 125th birthday with a League Cup win against Aldershot and a second round home draw against Premiership Newcastle United.
On a rain soaked evening at the Arena, there was little of the way in celebration of the club's birthday unless you call a few ditties from the West Midlands Police Band a celebration as the match got underway between an injury ravaged City side and an Aldershot side, which like City has a phoenix on their badge, and which had romped the Conference last season.
Gary Waddock had got his side into a winning habit and the Aldershot players certainly started the game with a very positive attitude. The Hampshire based side nearly took the lead in the fourth minute when Marvellous Marvin Morgan looped a header forward after Danny Ireland had come out of his goal and Ben Turner got back to head the ball over his own cross bar.
Guilly Beuzelin,who for me had a fine game along with the Iceman Aron Gunnarsson, drew a good save from Nikki Bull in the Shots goal with a twenty yard drive on the turn in the eighth minute.
Back came the visitors and Danny Ireland made his first save of the evening getting down to John Grant shot inside the area.
Freddie Eastwood,who next Wednesday, should be wearing the colours of Wales, showed plenty of class all night and might have had a few goals with the first coming in the 20th minute when he turned and drove a low shot which Bull got down to his left to force round for a corner and had another shot save.
Six minutes later, Eastwood turned provider delivering a lovely cross to the far post for Robbie Simpson to get in a header which somehow, Bull stopped from entering the net.
Bull,who had the 869 strong and noisy Aldershot fans behind him, had no chance on the half hour mark when Clinton Morrison gave Coventry the lead. Danny Fox found Eastwood who cut inside his marker to give Morrison an simple stroke home from a couple of yards out.
The City supporters who had turned out in good numbers for this game, celebrated this goal before those down the front hurried towards the back of the stands as the rain came down once more.
In the 37th minute, the away fans were singing in the rain when they equalised. A free kick some twenty three yards out was taken by Scott Donnelly. The ball deflected of the City wall and just beat the diving Danny Ireland on his left hand post.
In what was an enjoyable match, Bull pulled off a tremendous save from Michael Mifsud after the Maltese international who had been cheered by the City support when his name was announced, pounced on a header won by Morrison which found Eastwood who had sprayed the ball out to the left wing on which the player, advised by some City supporters to get a decent agent, had been controlling.
City had to play hoofball at the start of the second half but that tactic was soon dispensed with as City made the most of the greasy surface.
A six minute spell of pressure saw Eastwood fire over and Mifsud have two shots deflected for a corners and in the 58th minute a second goal for City.
This time, Scott Dann met a corner and headed the ball into the path of Robbie Simpson. The striker, who had played against Aldershot in the Conference, absolutely lashed the ball into the CT Stand net from eight yards.
Two goal Robbie Simpson
City kept up the pressure,controlling the midfield and stopping the visitors from breaking down the flanks whilst off the pitch, there was an incident which saw two males, dressed in jumpers and trousers come out of the corporate area of the Main Stand towards the Jewson Stand end and dive through first the Aldershot dugout then in to the tunnel which got Stuart Linnel involved. Orange coated stewards started arriving from all over the ground as an individual put up some resistantance and was hauled all the way past the press area and down towards the corner flag between the Main and CT stands.
This incident,which saw two males put in a police van at the end of the game, was still going on, when City went further ahead in the 65th minute. Eastwood supplied Robbie Simpson, who got the ball on the right of the area and drove the ball low into the bottom far corner of the net.
The two goals had killed off Aldershot and it was City who were firmly in control. Bull made a great save to push the ball over the bar from Mifsud in the 66th minute before Robbie Simpson left to a standing ovation when he was replaced by Leon McKenzie.
Eastwood was probably trying too hard to get his first goal for City. He fired wide in the 76th minute and danced his way through the defence before over-hitting a shot four minutes later. He could have scored two minutes into stoppage time, after Michael Doyle had been introduced, but played in Mifsud who wasted a really good chance to give City a greater margin of victory.
But the job of getting through to the second round of the League Cup had been achieved and City will now take this victory into the game at Barnsley on Saturday.