Username
Password
Doyle The Hero As Coventry Ease Relegation Fears
By CovSid67 April 1 2008
Three quality goals sealed a much needed victory for Coventry City, with Jay Tabb the star of the show - though my MOTM goes to Michael Doyle, because quality play is nothing without somebody to finish off moves! (As we have found to our cost over recent matches).

A free ticket from a kindly (Sky Blue Untrust) gentleman meant there was no need for me to work on this matchday, and I was able to take in all the pre-match run-up that so many take for granted [Insert own comment here!].

Without Leon Best (Suspended), and Freddie Eastwood (Not signed!) not taking their place in the starting XI, it was left to Robbie Simpson to lead the line for the home side - a big ask for somebody playing non-league football this time last year to get amongst the defenders of a side aiming for the play-offs, and to help save us from relegation, but the majority opinion is that he did it fairly well.

A blatant early dive by Easter, who earned a yellow card from the referee, and a b*ll*cking from young Schmichael in goal, caused a slight scare amongst home supporters. Two more equally blatant dives during the 90 minutes should have resulted in a second yellow, and obviously a red, but the referee chose to ignore said offences.

Hughes wasted an early chance after a Plymouth defender was robbed while in possession of the ball, while a poor cross almost caught 'Coventry Kid' Luke McCormick out. Soon after, a pass from Tabb to Gray saw the out-of-sorts winger blaze his effort over the bar.

A horrendous attempt at a shot from the away side saw laughter from home supporters, though, with the ball even failing to make it into touch, and being picked up by PA's left winger, a dangerous cross only needed the slightest of touches to make the scoreline 0-1. Thankfully it fizzed across the penalty area and was missed by all.

A poor first 15 minutes from Robbie Simpson (One of half-a-dozen Coventry players to look off the pace early on) could have shattered his confidence, but a decent bit of skill on 18 minutes, to leave a Plymouth defender looking rather foolish, followed by a decent strike at goal, saw his display improve from that moment on.

With half-an-hour gone, a Plymouth effort landed on the roof of the net, and seconds later, the home side broke at pace, though (The hugely disappointing) Gray blazed a decent effort way over the bar (Again).

Soon after, quality play from Tabb on the right, followed by a flick-on by Simpson, saw Doyle free at the far post. He accepted the chance to put the home side ahead, and celebrated as manically as those in the stands (Though was probably less than pleased that the compere failed to recognise him, and warded the goal to Mifsud. Pillock.).

Five minutes later, and it was 2-0. The ball was played out to Tabb on the half-way line, and he slipped his marker with ease (Not to mention a fine bit of skill), and headed goalwards at pace. His quality cross was expertly smashed home by Doyle at the far post.

In between those goals, a decent delivery from a Fox free kick landed at the feet of Hughes, but he was unable to dig the ball out, and the chance was gone.

A change of ends, from Block 17 to Block 26, saw the cold bite, and far less notes were taken for the second half as a result! (That and the fact the stronger winds made for a less entertaining half).

Tabb missed an early second half chance for the home side, while Mifsud also missed a glorious chance to end his Championship goal drought. Dann was also unlucky not to open his goal-scoring account for Coventry, as his header was cleared off the Plymouth goal-line following a Simpson-won corner.

As if a 2-0 lead wasn't reason enough for the home side to be cheerful, Gray was replaced by Thornton after 61 minutes. Soon after, great hold-up play from Simpson saw Thornton set up Tabb, who put the result beyond doubt with a great finish.

Plymouth boss Paul Sturrock reacted by making a triple substitution (Well, it worked for Mickey Adams a few seasons back in this fixture!). Despite this, it was Coventry City who had the next attack, and only a cynical foul on Mifsud prevented it from threatening a fourth goal.

Simpson also went into the referee's note-book (One of six to see yellow, though the other five were all Plymouth players!), for what looked  a stong but very fair challenge.

Disappointingly, Coventry City finally conceded a goal at home, meaning that they failed to break a record of seven consecutive clean sheets, and prevented Schmichael from recording what would have been his twelth clean sheet in 24 matches played this season (Though he now seems to have won over some of the doubters with another fine display when called upon).

Zavon Hines was a late substitute for the home side (Though was ready to come on just before PA scored their goal - said goal resulting in him putting his sweatshirt back on, and sitting back down), though wasn't given long enough to shine. A goal against Sheffield Wednesday, whose inability to count up to six should cost them the point they earned versus Stoke (But will probably end up being a pathetic fine instead), would help make him an immediate favourite with Coventry supporters! 

Team: Schmeichael, Osbourne, Fox, Ward, Dann, Tabb, S. Hughes, Doyle, Gray (Thornton 61), Mifsud (Hines 86), Simpson. SNU: Marshall, Duffy, Hall.

Bookmark or share this story with:

£25 free bet with Paddy Power