City Out Of The Carabao Cup With A Home Defeat

Blackburn: Raya, Nyambe, Williams, Smallwood, 

Ward, Caddis, Samuel, Feeney (Gladwin 65). Mulgrew (Jack Doyle 75) Evans,(Chapman 71), Bennett. Subs: Leutwiler, Graham, Whittingham, Tomlinson.

 

Goals: Corry Evans 16, Duckens Nazon 22, Richie Smallwood 32, Dominic Samuel 56.

 

Referee Darren England

 

Att 5,372 with 620 Blackburn fans

 

Coventry City are out of the Carabao Cup at the first time of asking after losing to Blackburn Rovers tonight.

 

Fate or the Football League computer meant that City took on two sides managed by managers who failed to arrest the Sky Blues slide into League Two in consecutive matches. Saturday, City travel to Grimsby Town managed by Russell Slade but tonight it was the visit of Blackburn Rovers, managed by the two men in charge of City before Slade in Tony Mowbray and Mark Venus for a League Cup First Round tie. 

 

This Carabao Cup (Carabao for those unaware is an energy drink, supposedly popular in places such as Thailand) match took place at the Ricoh Arena on a day where it had been raining on and off for much of the day.

 

Mark Robins changed his team for this game, with Chris Camwell, Jordan Shipley, Ben Stevenson, Max Biamou, Duckens Nazon and Devon Kelly-Evans all starting against a Blackburn side which included former City defender Elliott Ward and former City loanee Dominic Samuel.

 

In a game which kicked off early, something of a rarity at the Ricoh Arena, City attacked the end where the six hundred Blackburn fans were, with two stands of City supporters who were quick to abuse former Otium Entertainment Group Director Mark Venus.

 

The noise from the City support was got louder as they encouraged Jodi Jones, Saturdays hat-trick hero, to get in a shot in the seventh minute which Ward managed to block.

 

Max Biamou headed at Raya in the 12th minute but four minutes later, Biamou went down and the ball went upfield. It fell for Corry Evans who volleyed smartly into the net.

 

Blackburn had the impetus and O'Brien had to beat alert to to beat away a Samuel shot.

 

Duckens Nazon looked a threat and in the 22nd minute, Jack Grimmer got into the area and the loanee from Wolverhampton Wanderers, used his feet well to slip the ball under pressure past David Raya and get City level.

 

Chris Camwell was cautioned before O'Brien had to save well with his legs from Evans for a 30th minute corner. 

 

That was cleared. Nazon broke and had one cleared off the line. Blackburn countered and a good move saw the ball out to Richie Smallwood who volleyed past O'Brien from the edge of the area with a cracking finish. Although, City giving the ball away twice did not help matters.

 

Bennett fired at O''Brien for a Rovers side which was passing the ball round well as the half ended.

 

Three minutes into the second half and Nazon had a shot blocked for a throw.

 

As the rain came down, although not as bad as it did on Saturday or at Grimsby Town, whom City visit on Saturday, where their game with Derby was abandoned, Blackburn increased their lead in the 56th minute when more poor defending saw the ball not cleared and Dominic Samuel rifling a shot home from inside the area past O'Brien on his left hand side.

 

Jordan Ponticelli came on for the last 29 minutes for his debut along with Stuart Beavon but struggled to really get much of the ball and had to spend a lot of time chasing the ball.

 

Ben Stevenson volleyed at Raya as the noise from the City support continued and a free kick led to a 68th minute corner for City which was grabbed by Raya in a luminous orange kit.

 

With sixteen minutes to go. Kyle Finn, with no number or name on the back of his shirt came on for Jodi Jones.

 

Blackburn won two corners before O'Brien made a cracking save to concede another corner with seven minutes left.

 

That was cleared but City's youngsters were clearly struggling to deal with the awareness that the opposition players had of each other.

 

O'Brien saved from Samuel late on but City were out.