Nuneaton Borough 0-3 Coventry City Reserves
Coventry City Reserves warmed up for their opening FA Premier Reserve League South campaign with an easy victory at Nuneaton Borough.
City, who helped to keep the Warwickshire club in business, paying £3,000 a game for the privilege of using Manor Park to host some home reserve matches last season, (no news as yet on whether the reserves will be playing there this season), fielded what was close to the team that will start against Watford on August 11th.
With Richard Shaw involved with the first team's preparation for the opener against Sunderland and the injury to Sean Cooney, Caretaker boss Steve Ogrizovic gave former West Brom defender Sekou Berthe a run-out and Andy Marriott replaced the injured Richard Brush in goal.
The lanky defender was involved straight away heading wide from a second minute Anthony Barry corner.
City captained by Claus Jorgensen, attacked seven minutes later when a neat run by Ben Mackey who was leading Coventry's attack, saw the youngster back heel the ball for Craig Reid to hit a low shot which Boro keeper Darren Acton dived to save.
Roger Ashby's side who will play in the Conference Division North this season went up the other end and earned a corner that Gary Fitzpatrick wasted with a poor effort.
Andy Hall who has dyed his hair an even blonder shade that it was previously,teased a defender before firing over and then Stuart Giddings was twice involved. Firstly crossing for Reid to fire wide and then sending over a ball which Acton, whom I remember from his days at Telford United with Gerry Daly and Paul Dyson, did well to catch.
City were playing the ball around nicely and in the 17th minute,Claus Jorgensen showed the watching Peter Reid as to why he is playing reserve team football by striking a poor effort that was well wide of the goal.
With people still coming into the ground after the Coventry Evening Telegraph had printed the wrong kick off time (Matty had checked with Nuneaton to ascertain the correct kick off time earlier in the day), City took a 23rd minute lead.
Former City striker Avun Jephcott lost the ball to Berthe. The defender spotted Giddings on the left flank and delivered a perfect pass with the outside of his boot. Giddings advanced before finding Ben Mackey on the opposite wing. Mackey was totally unmarked but with the goal at his mercy,he panicked and scuffed his shot wide and in came Craig Reid at the far post to blast in from very close range.
A facial injury to Boro defender Neil Moore which required stitches in his chin, saw Roger Ashby send on former City youth teamer Robert Oddy in the 27th minute.
Avun Jephcott still looked as clumsy as ever and a poor 35th minute effort was easily saved by Andy Marriott.
As the game moved towards the interval, Jephcott managed to ride a Barry tackle and passed to Stuart Wilson who fired high into the Cock & Bear end terrace.
Unusually,Anthony Barry was not having a good night and in the 43rd minute,he wasted a corner won by Jorgensen.
There were no changes at the break but within four minutes of the restart,Ashby sent on his third City reject when Mark Noon replaced Mark Clifford.
Four minutes later, another Coventry corner saw Giddings pump the ball forward and Acton beat Reid to the ball. However Hinckley based referee Mr Tony Green thought Acton had been impeded and gave a free kick to the home side.
City attacked again through Kevin Thornton but whilst the red head can control and play the ball, his shooting is still in need of some practice and Acton again saved reasonably easy.
Sixty-three minutes of the game was enough for Peter Reid and the City boss got up and made his way out of the ground. He must have only just got to his car parked in nearby Beaumont Road when Craig Reid doubled City's tally two minutes later.
In another good move,Stuart Giddings did well on the left and sent over a cross which Reid flicked home with his head from six yards.
Acton saved twice from Ben Mackey before Andy Hall raced into the penalty area in the 78th minute and was brought down. Mr Green took one look and gave City the penalty.
Now with Reid on a possible hat-trick,you would have thought that he would have been allowed to take the kick. However, Claus Jorgensen grabbed the ball and netted with a low shot that squirmed under Acton and into the back of the net.
The third goal was met by three changes with Thornton,Barry and Mackey all being replaced.
With the catering outlet by the Main Stand at Manor Park now offering three pies for a quid, Nuneaton tried to get give their supporters in a crowd of 333,some hope when Marriott saved first from Wilson and then punched the ball away spectacularly from an Oddy cross for a corner.
In the last seconds,Oddy crossed for Stuart Whittacker to nod the ball down for Marriott to making a diving save, but it mattered not as City Reserves ran out comfortable winners.
HT NBFC 0-1 CCFC FT NBFC 0-3 CCFC
ATT 523
Goals Craig Reid (23,65),Claus Jorgensen (pen 78)
Man Of the Match - Sekou Berthe, cool and confident on the ball
Team
Andy Marriott, Liam Nicell,Stuart Giddings, Anthony Barry (Azariah Ogarro 79),Sekou Berthe ,Isaac Osbourne,Andy Hall,Claus Jorgensen,Ben Mackey (Gary O'Toole 80),Kevin Thornton (Ryan Lynch 79),Craig Reid SNU Jonny Tuffey, Rikki Bains.