Midland Combination League Champions, the Coventry City Ladies, played out a dour goalless draw against relegation threatened Leafield Athletic this afternoon. An 11 day break for the Sky Blues since their emphatic 7-1 romp over Copsewood seemed to have resulted in a certain lethargy as City struggled to find their usual tempo.
The hosts had the better of the chances coming closest with a free header from just six yards out, Sarah Morgan was relieved to watch the ball sail over her crossbar though as the opportunity was wasted. Morgan was called into action shortly before the break, saving well down to her left to keep the scores level. Nikki Miles was unlucky not to break the deadlock, hitting the crossbar from the corner of the box. The 45th minute effort was as close as City would come to troubling the Leafield goal.
Jade Whitfield came to City's rescue early in the second period, clearing from her own goal line before Morgan was once again called upon to spare Coventry's blushes. The Sky Blues did create a handful chances late on but lacked the killer instinct that had seen them score 65 goals in their previous 20 games. Manager Paul Cudby admitted that his side's performance was far from their best.
"We created some half chances towards the end of the game, the sort of chances that we've been putting away throughout the year, however, we just lacked a little quality today. Overall we were patchy but I'm pleased that we didn't lose and managed to keep another clean sheet. Leafield are a greatly improved side from the one we played earlier in the season and I think that their recent run of results has shown that, they certainly deserved at least a point from their showing this afternoon. Hopefully we'll finish the season with a vastly improved performance at TNS next week".
Team: - Morgan; Whitfield, Lynch (c), Wilton, Newnes; Dermody (Formaston 60), Miles (Henson 46), McKenna, Ward; Parnell (Wilcox 75), Lowe.
Subs Not Used: - Manca, Clarke.
Goals: - None.
Booked: - None.
Sent Off: - None.