By CovSid67
January 23 2006

Almost two years ago to the day, Coventry City beat Walsall 6-1. The last time we played Derby, we beat them 6-2. I should have saw the signs, but chose to ignore the 100/1 odds on the Ladbrokes chalk board.... Before kick-off, supporters were asked to help out with some crowd scenes for a Channel 4 drama, though what happened in the second 45 minutes couldn't have been a lot better had it actually been scripted too!

A Richard Shaw howler gifted Derby the lead before some had even sat down in their seats, and there were probably a fair few people thinking a rout might be on the cards - how right they were!

A fine run from Adebola, followed by a fine ball from Doyle, saw Stern John about as free as it's possible to be in the opposition penalty area, and he lashed home a superb effort past Camp in the Derby goal. 1-1 with barely five minutes on the clock.

New-boy Dennis Wise intervened to stop a dangerous Derby attack in the Coventry penalty area, and soon after a great pass from McSheffrey put Adebola through, but his pull-back was missed by those in advanced positions wearing Sky Blue.

Idiakez, who proved throughout the first half that he was a class act in a poor division, did show his more human side when his corner failed to even enter the field of play!

Poor defending from Marcus Hall allowed Derby a chance, but Fulop saved well to prevent a Derby goal, while minutes later Adebola's persistence set up Stern John, who blazed his effort over the bar.

A better Idiakez corner eluded all, and tested Fulop in the Coventry goal, but he punched the effort away. Another Derby corner was cleared by the home side, and a quick break up the pitch could have resulted in a goal chance. Sadly, John's superb cross-field pass, which was collected well by Wise, failed to find a Coventry player when he attempted to cross into the area.

Another Derby attack, which looked to have been cleared by Coventry's defence before somehow ending up at the feet of Graham - with Coventry's defence all over the place - was thankfully blazed over the bar.

An Idiakez free kick again tested Fulop, and again he was equal to the test, superbly pushing the ball round the post for a corner.

Wise had started his Coventry career with a foul on Johnson seconds into the game, and was booked for another foul on Johnson minutes before half-time - the idea to offer him pay-as-you-play seems a good one, as he's more than likely to miss a few games through suspension!

There was little hint of what was to come in the second half, with Derby defintely ahead on points by half-time - though how wrong was the person I overheard saying "Well, we won't be scoring six this time"?!

Peschisolido could have scored for Derby minutes into the second half, and his miss proved Oh! So costly! Seconds later, an Adebola run and cross saw Stern John tap-in from a matter of centimetres out. Just in case the Derby fans hadn't realised who he was, he pointed to the name on the back of his shirt!

A Wise free kick was just over the bar, and minutes later, more fine work from Adebola (Who obviously really enjoys playing against Derby!) set Wise up for his first goal for Coventry - via a Mabbutt-esque deflection!

Excellent footwork from McSheffrey forced Camp into a fine save (One of the few he managed all game!), which was palmed away for a corner. From the resulting corner - which saw Wise receive equal amounts of abuse from the Derby fans and applause from the Coventry fans as he walked over to take it! - Adebola made it 4-1.

This was enough for a fair few Derby supporters who headed for the exits, while most of those that stayed chanted "You Don't Know What You're Doing" - obviously forgetting that a week earlier they too had hammered somebody (Not that Derby's results this season will help Phil Brown in his 10 year plan to become an international manager!). You can't win them all lads (And lasses)....

Adebola was replaced by Hutchinson with 20 minutes left to play, and rightly received rapturous applause from the home support....

Soon after, a long ball forward could have resulted in a fifth for Coventry had McSheffrey made better contact with the ball, and Derby wasted two more decent chances within minutes - much to the disgust of their supporters.

A superb point-blank save from Fulop after a Doyle error further frustrated away supporters even more, while the decision to replace Johnson saw a fair few blood vessels bursting too! Watching the Derby supporters was almost as entertaining as the match itself....

Whing replaced Duffy with fifteen minutes left to play, and was to have a hand in the fifth and sixth goals.

Wise was substituted, and received a standing ovation. His replacement, Kevin Thornton, went on a superb run from box-to-box, before releasing the ball to McSheffrey. His pass to Whing was given back, before McSheffrey was fouled in the penalty area. Proving just what a special day this was, the blatant penalty was actually awarded!

There then followed an incident that split Coventry support, and has had people bickering for over a day now!

Despite Stern John being on a hat-trick, McSheffrey refused to allow him the chance to score from the spot, with the Trinidad & Tobago international skuliking off to the halfway line - rather stupid, as, if the penalty had been saved, he might just have got his hat-trick from any rebound. It mattered not as McSheffrey scored to make it 5-1.

McSheffrey scored his second and Coventry's sixth with minutes left to play, and gave them a much needed confidence boost before they take on Premiership Middlesboro in the F.A. Cup next weekend (With our record against top flight teams since we came down being abysmal!).