This is my first post for ages. I have been going to games; Watford was brilliant, Derby was great because it meant Robbie Savage went home disappointed (hate him so much…), Preston was frustrating, Bristol was a good win, and Barnsley was nervy, but in the end, we were always going to beat them. 8 wins and 1 draw in 9 games since they got promoted, I believe. Not bad.
To be honest, the first goal was a shocker defensively. Westwood kicks it, Platt wins the header, Sheffers finishes it, extremely well. But firstly, as much as my Barnsley supporting friend (see his blog at http://barnsleyblog.com, it’s much better than mine) rants about Trippier, the full-back, for not standing Sheffers up, which he should have done, where were their centre backs? I’m not complaining, but if you’re gonna let Platt have a free header than you deserve what you get.
We should have been out of sight by half time. It wasn’t chance after chance, it’s just that the chances we had were golden. Gunnar went through, and Luke Steele made a decent save one on one, and then was quickly out, forcing Sheffers to lift his effort on to the roof of the net.
The beginning of the second half made me, and the other Coventry fans it seemed, as the atmosphere got edgier, and Barnsley came more into the game. Westy made two saves in the first half, and was called into another one early in the second half, whilst a cross flashed just beyond Butterfield(?), and it seemed like we were going to rue those chances.
But then, the substitutions. Sheffers came off for Clarke. I thought ‘what is he doing!?’, but first Baker did well after a great advantage by the referee to slot it in the bottom corner, and then Clarke hit a good effort from the edge of the area to make the scoreline go from 1-0 in the 85th to 3-0 in the 90th, and giving the scoreline a slightly flattering feel. I believe Coventry deserved to win, but maybe 2 or 3-1 would’ve been fairer.
Ratings;
GK: Westy – 7 – did what he had to do with two decent saves. Excellent kicking.
RB: Keogh – 7 – got forward well. Only has one trick, which may not work well for him in future. However, very positive.
CB: Turner and Wood – both 7 – again, didn’t do anything much wrong, just a comfortable game.
LB: Cranie – 7 – boring ratings these, but the entire defence did their jobs comfortabely, without being outstanding.
RM: Gunnar – 6 – bit quiet really. Throw ins not as potent as we’d like to believe. Perhaps unlucky not to win a penalty.
CM: Carsley – 7 – decent. One awful shot which made me laugh, really.
CM: Clingan – 6 – fairly quiet.
LM: Sheffers – 9 – looked superb. MOTM.
STR: Platt – 8 – just seems like defences can’t handle him really.
Jukebox – 6 – quiet. Lack of confidence?
Sheffield UTD away next…PUSB!
Tags: Barnsley, Coventry, Coventry City, Ricoh Arena
