Another Away Defeat For Poor City

Last updated : 01 March 2015 By Cns Sport

BARNSLEY 2-0 COVENTRY CITY  BY KEV MONKS

City Murphy, Keogh, Cameron, Hussey (Christie 46), Cranie (Bell 48), Clingan, Thomas, Deegan, McSheffrey, Jutkiewicz, O''Donovan (Platt 46). SNU Dunn, McDonald.

Barnsley Steele, Foster, McEveley, Hassell (Wiseman 32), Doyle, Drinkwater, Vaz Te (Park 81), Gray, Butterfield, McNulty. SNU Preece, Addison, Rose

HT BFC 1-0 CCFC FT BFC 2-0 CCFC ATT 9,497

Referee G.Eltringham Assts R.Bartlett & C.Kavanagh Booked Hussey and O'Brien

Goals Andy Gray (41 pen & 54)

Man Of The Match - The City fans for turning up deserve plenty of credit but take your pick out of Christie, Clingan, Platt, Jutkiewicz or Deegan if you want the best of a poor team.  ______________________

Coventry City dropped back into the bottom three with a 2-0 defeat at Barnsley.

For the first of our three matches in Yorkshire this month, we set off on a glorious day and endured a journey littered with delays thanks to a number of accidents on the M1 and some dodgy driving from van drivers on a death wish.

There were 677 City fans who made it into Oakwell, with three not let in for drunken-ness and they saw Andy Thorn give Gary Deegan his first start of the season in the only change from the team that started against Blackpool on Tuesday.

The City supporters from as far away as Kent plus a lot of our Northern based support, were in good voice early on, basking in a stand that was radiating heat back on to the pitch.

Whether the heat affected the City players, I don't know but the Sky Blues failed to find any rhythm.

In the sixth minute, Roy O''Donovan was sent away. He rounded Luke Steele and amazingly missed the target completely in what was a Torres moment. The assistant in front of the delapidated Main Stand had his flag up as the City fans tried to work out how he missed.

For the next half an hour, that was as close as City got to the goal minded by Luke Steele. Barnsley found it easy to attack down especially where Hussey was or through the midde. In the 40th minute, the Tykes attacked. Chris Hussey won the ball and looked to be fouled. Whether he thought he heard a whistle awarding him a free kick, it was hard to say but he rolled over and put his hand on the ball. Mr Eltringham awarded a penalty and Andy Gray beat Murphy to put Keith Hill''s side a goal up.

Sammy Clingan was one of a number of players confronting the referee as the teams came off at the break. Thorn went for a double change at the break, taking off Hussey and O''Donovan bringing on Christie and Platt. In the 48th minute,

Thorn was forced in to a third change when Martin Cranie who had taken a knock clearing a corner early in the game,  limped off and went straight down the tunnel and was replaced by David Bell who took up a wide right role with Conor Thomas going to right back.

Murphy made a cracking save to push away a free kick but in the 54th minute, he was picking the ball out of the net. Barnsley attacked down what was our right and there was Andy Gray to fire home.

The City supporters, mainly those at the back, turned on the board and the current owners as Platt had a header pushed away for  a corner by the diving Steele.

McSheffrey had a shot at Steele and had these chances gone in, a grandstand finish would have been on the cards.

But it was not to be. Christie won a corner, Bell had a shot blocked as City turned in their worst performance of the season and got a defeat which fully highlights the problems the club has both on and off the pitch.