CHELSEA RESERVES 0-0 COVENTRY CITY RESERVES BY KEV MONKS
Coventry City Reserves picked up another useful point on their travels with a 0-0 draw at Chelsea.
After a £32 train journey from Coventry that saw two changes, firstly in Reading, where I met Jo,a friend of longstanding who was doing her first away reserve game and then at Ascot, we finally arrived at the Recreation Ground in Aldershot,the current home of Chelsea Reserves.
Now as ourselves and another long time friend Ziad made our way to the ground, we spotted a huge banner advertising the game with the slogan "See Premiership Stars For £5.
We laughed as we got into the ground and after paying a pound for what was a decent programme that Chelsea were not playing any Premiership players at all. In fact,the team that faced City was not far off the one which had lost 3-2 to City U18's a few weeks ago.
The ever friendly Steve Ogrizovic fielded a slightly older team which saw Dean Leacock and Eric Deloumeaux both return to match playing after being out with hamstring injuries. Also back was Stuart Giddings who missed the reserves 2-1 win over Crystal Palace last week due to being on international duty with England U19's.
In a game shown live on Chelsea TV (probably the reason for the poor crowd), the home side were the first to show when Joe Tillen found Danny Woodwards on the left. Woodwards advanced but across came Andy Whing to get in a tackle and concede a corner.
This was cleared but the ball was soon back with the West Londoners when Danny Hollands got past Neil Wood and hit a low shot which Scott Shearer moved to save.
Joe Tillen blasted wide in the seventh minute from a long Dean Smith throw before City created their first opening of the evening when Anthony Barry sent the ball over. Chelsea keeper Yves Makabu came out and attempted to kick it but only succeeded in slicing the ball over his own crossbar for a corner.
Neil Wood took the flag kick and Dean Leacock came thundering in, but the header from the defender who has become a City player until the end of the season flashed wide of the goal.
Scott Shearer was again in good form in the City goal and in the eleventh minute, the Scot was on hand to deal with a Hollands header.
Mick McGiven's team were having the early pressure and a minute later almost took the lead when Tillen jinked his way into the penalty area and struck a low eight yard shot which struck the foot of the post before being hacked away.
Eric Deloumeaux who has not featured since the pre-season tour of Germany looked confident in midfield and his dominance in midfield was allowing City's 4-4-2 formation to resemble a 4-3-3 one with Kevin Thornton able to get forward and assist Craig Read and Eddy Johnson in attack.
Stuart Giddings was also doing well and his persistence down the left saw him firstly deliver a cross which the hard running Craig Read just beaten to by Makabu.Then in the 23rd minute, Giddings crossed from the left,Makabu failed to hold it and the ball span out for a Coventry corner.
With Scott Shearer playing safe and kicking ball towards the railway line which runs past the back of the stand opposite the Main one at the Recreation Ground,a lovely ball from the hard working Craig Reid with the outside of his right boot found Anthony Barry and also a defender who cleared for a corner.
At times some of the passing movements from the Sky Blues was excellent with Andy Hall,Andy Whing and Eric Deloumeaux all providing some neat triangles to move the ball around and allow the midfielders to pick out their players.
Like the City strikers,the home side were relying on scraps and in the 31st minute,Joe Tillen fed Woodards who raced towards the goal. However,Shearer was in no mood to concede a goal and made an excellent save with his feet.
City soon regained possession with a long ball from Andy Whing finding Craig Read who raced through but was stopped by a Steven Watt saving tackle as the Coventry kid was about to shoot.
In the 34th minute, Neil Wood,from inside the penalty area,hit a shot which Sam Tillen had to head way for a corner.
Three minutes later, referee Gary Chapman made the first caution of the night when he yellow carded Danny Hollands for a late tackle on Kevin Thornton.
Eddy Johnson fired wide two minutes later but play was stopped as Michael Mancienne who had attempted to stop the loanee from Manchester United crashed to the ground and was carried off on a stretcher to be replaced by Adrian Pettigrew.
Just as the fourth official Mick Walsh who closely resembled one time Kenilworth resident and former Coronation Street star Charlie Lawson who played Jim McDonald was announcing there was two minutes of injury time,a low twenty yard effort from Eddy Johnson was pushed past the post by Makabu for a corner.
Like the first period, chances in the second half were limited with the first real effort of note coming ten minutes after the restart when Jimmy Smith who was Chelsea's best player setting up Woodwards who blasted well wide from twenty yards.
Eric Deloumeaux had done a good job in City's midfield but in the 59th minute, Steve Ogrizovic did his bit to ensure that the Frenchman was available for selection in the local derby against Leicester by replacing him with Liam Nicell.
Woodwards then fired just past Scott Shearer's post from eight yards before he clattered by Andy Hall who was cautioned.
Stuart Giddings won City a 65th minute which was followed by another when a Nicell shot was deflected.
Two minutes later, Shearer made his only mistake of the night when a poor clearance found Smith who centred for Woodards to slip the ball inches wide of the near post.
Although,there was no goals for the crowd of around 200 (eight City) to cheer,this was a reasonably entertaining game to watch and in the 69th minute,some good approach play from the industrious Kevin Thornton, who has netted seven times for City's U18's in the last four matches, allowed Eddy Johnson to get in a shot which unfortunately he could only blast over the crossbar.
With fourteen minutes remaining,another City corner saw a free kick after Eddy Johnson was brought down in a central position some twenty five yards out. Anthony Barry took the kick but disappointingly it sailed high over the bar and in to the covered terrace at the end to our left.
City were looking good for their second away draw of the season but with ten minutes to go, they nearly had all three when Makabu did well to grab a neat flick header from Craig Read from a Giddings cross.
Giddings became the third player cautioned shortly after when he brought down Michele Gallacio on the edge of the area. Gallacio limped off to be replaced by the quaintly named James Younghusband as Sam Tillen sent his free kick into the waiting arms of Scott Shearer.
Younghusband's brother joined the action when he replaced Joe Tillen in the 84th minute and in the dying seconds, an audacious Danny Hollands forty yarder flew over Shearer's crossbar as both sides took a share of the points.
HT CFC 0-0 CCFC FT CFC 0-0 CCFC
ATT 200
Booked - Woodwards,Hall,Giddings
Man Of The Match - Kevin Thornton with good marks for Dean Leacock,Eric Deloumeaux and Scott Shearer.
TEAM
Shearer,Hall,Giddings,Deloumeaux (Nicell 59), Whing,Leacock,Barry,Wood,Johnson,Reid,Thornton
SNU Tuffey, Osbourne,Mackey,Davis
Chelsea
Makabu,D.Smith,S.Tillen,Mancienne (Pettigrew 41),Watt,Grant,J.Smith,Gallaccio (J.Younghusband 80),Woodards,Hollands,
J.Tillen (P.Younghusband 84) SNU Hudell,Hamann