COVENTRY CITY RESERVES 0-5 TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR BY KEV MONKS
One moment of rashness from Tim Partridge led to City being stuffed by Tottenham Hotspur.
On a rainy night at Nuneaton, Steve Ogrizovic gave a debut to keeper Jonny Tuffey after an injury to Scott Shearer. For me as Tuffey's sponsor and a mate,it was a proud moment.
More changes to the team that had drawn at Chelsea saw Craig Pead and Gary McSheffrey,who were both back from loan spells at Notts County and Luton respectively. Patrick Suffo had been due to start but was withdrawn late on and Craig Reid kept his place with Ben Mackey taking over from Reid on the bench.
Spurs boss Clive Allen who played against City on that fateful day in May 1987, named a young side who were first to attack when a long ball from Marcel McKie found Lee Barnard who fired wide from inside the penalty area inside three minutes.
The North Londoners attacked again five minutes later but were stopped when a saving tackle from right back Tim Partridge gave them a corner.
City's first attack on goal at the open end was a ninth minute free kick which was taken by Bjarni Gudjonsson. The Icelander hit a lovely shot that Spurs keeper Robert Burch managed to punch into the air and when it feel to earth, it was cleared for a corner by Phillip Ifill.
Two minutes later, Stuart Giddings got down the left and sent over a cross which Craig Reid nodded wide.
Spurs broke up the other end and as Space Dilevski advanced towards goal,Tuffey came out and got a touch on the ball to take it away from the left winger and for Rikki Bains to clear.
It was at this point that in walked Ronnie Moore. The Rotherham manager who today described his Millmoor future as in the "lap of the gods" has attended more reserve games than the current City first team manager and rumours were abounding that he would take over as reserve team manager if he got the push at Rotherham, allowing Ogrizovic & Borrows who were appointed caretaker managers at the start of the season to concentrate on their role with the Academy.
A 17th minute foul on Craig Pead,one of the players,Moore is believed to be looking at brought a booking for centre half Paul O'Donoghue and a free kick which Gudjonsson curled onto the head of Reid and Burch moved to save the effort.
Spurs put a neat passing move together in the 22nd minute to free Dilevski down the left. He cut inside and found Lee Barnard on the edge of the area. Barnard hit a right footed shot but Stuart Giddings was back on the line to clear.
The visitors won back the ball and when it was played back in,Lee Barnard raced through and as the City defence appealed for offside,he stroked the ball past Tuffey and into the net.
If letting a goal in was not bad enough,City found themselves down to ten men when a reckless challenge from Tim Partridge flattened Dilevski who got up and shoved the City right back.
Partridge squared up to his opponent and raised his right arm. Referee Phil Gibbs came racing over and showed a yellow card to Dilevski and a red to Partridge.
The defender headed straight for the dressing rooms whilst the 100 or so in the Main Stand roared their disapproval.
Craig Pead filled in at right back,leaving City lightweight in midfield. Craig Reid came back to help and did very well to slip past three markers and boot a ball into the direction of Gary McSheffrey.
Things got worse when Spurs netted three times in a five minute spell to wrap up the match. A mistake by Pead who did not hear Tuffey's call as the City keeper came out to clear allowed Lee Barnard to prod the loose ball into the empty net.
A minute later, it was 3-0 to the visitors when a superbly executed shot from twenty five yards by Mark Yeates flew into the net.
Yeates was involved in the fourth in the 39th minute when he sent over a cross for the highly dangerous Edson Silva Sousa to tap in from close range.
Four goals down,things were gloom but a lovely ball from the hard working Kevin Thornton found McSheffrey who tried to shoot but was blocked.
Tuffey tried to shoot when he sent down a very long clearance which Burch had to be alert to and as the interval approached,Gary McSheffrey on the left hit a cracking shot which Burch pushed over for a corner.
Three minutes of stoppage time were added and this saw Tuffey first pull over a stunning save to push the ball over for a corner and then show the same sort of control of his penalty area that we have come to expect from Luke Steele by coming out and collecting the ball.
Steve Ogrizovic who was rightly unhappy with the lateness of some of the offside decisions being given by the assistant referee on the covered terrace side, sacrificed Craig Reid who had battled well and as he had no defender on the bench,Anthony Barry came on with Eric Deloumeaux slotting into the back four.
Bjarni Gudjonsson had the first three efforts of the second half, firing a twenty yard free kick at Burch,firing over when through on goal and then sending over a 35 yard ball which missed everyone in a crowded penalty area.
Dilevski was replaced in the 55th minute by James Maghoma and was booed by some in the stand who were demanding a caution for Mark Yeates who was spoken to for persistently mouthing off.
O'Donoghue fouled Gary McSheffrey in the 56th minute, giving the Sky Blues a free kick some twenty yards out, McSheffrey took the kick,curled it round the wall but into the side netting.
Lee Barnard was having an excellent game and jinked his way through the City defence before firing over on the hour mark.
In the 66th minute,we thought that O'Donoghue was going to be sent off for yet more persistent calling of the referee who appeared to have selective deafness when it came to Spurs players swearing at him (or perhaps he agreed with their comments). It transpired that the central defender was wearing a necklace which thanks to the help of Clive Allen and the Spurs physio was eventually removed.
Bjarni who had a reasonably good game fired wide in 64th minute and won a corner nine minutes later.
With ten minutes left, Silva Sousa was replaced by Michael Malcolm.
City kept looking for opportunities to go forward and in the 84th minute,Giddings cut inside and hit a lovely shot which Burch dived to his left to push away for a corner.
With the rain getting worse,so did the scoreline when an 87th minute cross from the right by Malcolm was tapped in by Lee Barnard to complete his hat trick and a good performance by the visitors.
Neil Wood blazed wide with the game deep in injury time and Tuffey made a save from a Yeates shot before Mr Gibbs blew the final whistle.
HT CCFC 0-4 THFC FT CCFC 0-5 THFC
ATT 170
GOALS - Lee Barnard (23,34,87)
Mark Yeates (35 mins)
Edson Silva Sousa (39 mins)
Booked O'Donoghue,Dilevski
Sent Off Partridge
Man Of The Match - Kevin Thornton again for his battling spirit.
Team Tuffey,Partridge (sent off 36),Giddings, Pead,Bains,Deloumeaux,Gudjonsson,Wood, Reid (Barry 45),McSheffrey,Thornton SNU Belford,Mackey,Hall,Wall
Spurs
Burch, Ifil, McKie, Hughes, O'Donoghue, Kelly, Yeates, O'Hara, Barnard,Silva Sousa (Malcolm 80), Dilevski (Maghoma 55). SNU Defendi,Fulop,Barcham