WALSALL RESERVES 2-3 AET COVENTRY CITY RESERVES BY KEV MONKS
Twenty years ago Coventry City won the FA Cup and in 2007 Coventry City won the Birmingham Senior Cup with an extra time victory over Walsall.
Having declined the offer to stage the Final at the Ricoh Arena,we set off up a quiet-ish M6 and made our way into the Bescot Stadium.
There were about fifty City supporters in the Main Stand of the club promoted back to League One to see Steve Ogrizovic field a young side with only Chris Birchall,Luke Steele and Andy Whing having first experience.
Walsall, managed by former City keeper Eric McManus who was taunted about the six goals he let in against Bayern Munich, also fielded his usual reserve side.
As Iain Dowie,Tim Flowers and Frankie Bunn watched amongst a crowd of 313,the game was pretty even early on.
Dowie had already had a "Sign Whing Up" chant directed at him for his part in a 24th minute move which saw Chris Birchall head wide.
Then five minutes later the pair combined again, with a through ball from Whing playing on the right side of midfield falling for Chris Birchall. The Trinidad international who scored the winner at Stourbridge, held off his marker and kept his nerve to flick the ball with his right foot past Rene Gilmartin for the opening goal.
Twenty years ago Coventry City won the FA Cup and in 2007 Coventry City won the Birmingham Senior Cup with an extra time victory over Walsall.
Having declined the offer to stage the Final at the Ricoh Arena,we set off up a quiet-ish M6 and made our way into the Bescot Stadium.
There were about fifty City supporters in the Main Stand of the club promoted back to League One to see Steve Ogrizovic field a young side with only Chris Birchall,Luke Steele and Andy Whing having first experience.
Walsall, managed by former City keeper Eric McManus who was taunted about the six goals he let in against Bayern Munich, also fielded his usual reserve side.
As Iain Dowie,Tim Flowers and Frankie Bunn watched amongst a crowd of 313,the game was pretty even early on.
Dowie had already had a "Sign Whing Up" chant directed at him for his part in a 24th minute move which saw Chris Birchall head wide.
Then five minutes later the pair combined again, with a through ball from Whing playing on the right side of midfield falling for Chris Birchall. The Trinidad international who scored the winner at Stourbridge, held off his marker and kept his nerve to flick the ball with his right foot past Rene Gilmartin for the opening goal.
Now the Birmingham County FA had decided for all of their finals that the referee would be from the town or city of one competing side and the two assistants from the other. We had the referee in Mick Murphy and in the 36th minute, Hinge And Brackett to my left and other Saddlers fans were berating him for a free kick after a trip on Chris Birchall who got up to take the place kick.
It was a lovely ball from Birchall which fell for Andy Whing to drive low into the back of the net.
I for one was guilty of thinking the cup was already ours. Walsall had other ideas and in the 44th minute, the sprightly David McDermott crossed from a free kick on the right and Troy Deeney beat Luke Steele on the near post to score.
Less than a minute later and the Saddlers were level. Leon Quarless crossed from the left. Luke Steele flapped at it and allowed the ball to drop for Troy Deeney to bundle over the line.
With Hinge and Brackett now more interested in debating the moon rising over the stand on the far side, the Whing/Birchall partnership produced a Birchall header hitting the post two minutes into the second half.
As names started to fly into Mr Murphy's book, Five City supporters started a conga which took them into what is the away end for Football League matches. The Stewards were less than impressed with this and decided that it merited ejections from the ground.
Ryan Lynch in what his likely to be his last game for City did well in the 71st minute to clear the line from a corner.
That was the last real chance of the half and the game went into extra time.
Reis Ashraf had replaced David Burtoft in the 81st minute and the striker was making the most of his fresh pair of legs to put pressure on the Walsall defence.
The striker from Milton Keynes had one good chance in the first period of extra-time, heading over a Birchall cross in the 97th minute.
Right back Dale Jones in what is his last game in a Sky Blue shirt limped off and was replaced by Kieran Fitzharris.
The Coventry kid who joined Gooding,Whing and Birchall in an industrious midfield, had only been on the pitch for a minute when Chris Birchall got down the left flank and into the area.
He was sent crashing and Mr Murphy pointed straight to the spot. Many were hoping that Andy Whing in his final game in a City shirt would take the decisive kick but up stepped Chris Birchall who picked his spot and drove it low to the keepers right to restore City's lead.
Into the final period. This was noteworthy only for a chant of "Sign Him Up" when the impressive David McDermott was replaced until the dying seconds.
Walsall had the ball inside the area. Andy Whing superbly cleared a first effort off the line with his foot and then threw himself to head again off the line as the loose ball came back in.
It was a superb bit of defending. One good enough to win the cup and so it proved.
The City players led by Andy Gooding went up the steps to the back of the Main Stand to collect their medals after the match officials and Walsall had collected theirs. They and the City support launched into a chorus of the song we sing for Andy Whing.
With a big smile on his face, the scorer of the last ever goal at Highfield Road collected the cup and raised it high into the air to huge cheers.
Andy Whing - it has been a pleasure knowing you. Thanks for the memories.
HT WFC 2-2 CCFC FT WFC 2-2 CCFC
ET1 WFC 2-3 CCFC ET2 WFC 2-3 CCFC
Att 313
Goals Chris Birchall (29 & 101 pen), Andy Whing (36), Troy Deeney (44 & 45)
Att 313
Goals Chris Birchall (29 & 101 pen), Andy Whing (36), Troy Deeney (44 & 45)
Booked Doran,Gooding,Sansara,Jones,Hildreth
Team
Steele, Jones (Fitzharris 100),Lynch,Hildreth,Bunce, Francis (Burgess 113),Whing,Gooding,West,Birchall, Burtoft (Ashraf 81) SNU Collett,Ritchie
Walsall
Gilmartin,Taundry,Sansara,Doran,Smith,Lyall,McDermott (Harris 105),Nicholls,Deeney,Davies,Quarless (Hanna 103) SNU Bentley,Schwarz,McKeown