City Draw Away To Millwall

Last updated : 11 September 2016 By CNS Sport

Millwall 1-1 Coventry City 

 

City: Charles-Cook (GK), Ricketts (C), Willis, Turnbull, Sterry, Page (Dion Kelly-Evans 63), Bigirimana, Gadzhev, Reid (Agyei 79), Lameiras (Jones 75), Sordell.   Subs;: Burge (GK), Harries,  Stevenson, Wright.

Millwall Archer, Martin, Craig, Williams, Worrall, Thompson (Butcher 76), Onyedinma (Ferguson 60), Romeo, Webster, O’Brien (Philpott 89),  Morison. Subs: King, Nelson, Abdou,  Wylde.

HT  MFC 0-1 CCFC. FT  MFC. 1-1 CCFC. Att 8,735

Goals Marvin Sordell 22, Aiden O'Brien 71.

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Coventry City are now seven games without a league win but they put in a much better performance to draw 1-1 at Millwall.

After the 2-0 defeat at Fleetwood Town, Coventry City travelled down to Millwall, a club who had also had a bad result in midweek off the pitch with news that Lewisham Council had voted for a compulsory purchase order of land around The Den.

That defeat in Lancashire had seen City, who are clearly suffering due to the legal actions of their owners, drop to second from bottom in the table, something which Millwall boss Neil Harris described as a false position, and reduced the amount of City supporters who paid £26 to get in on a wet afternoon.

With Marcus Tudgay ill and Chris McCann injured, City started with Marvin Sordell up front and Sam Ricketts back in defence, and set about trying to hold the Lions for as long as possible.

Aiden O’Brien just missed Romeo with a cross before Worrall headed over from a seventh minute cross from the left. 

The Lions had two corners and a free kick before Kyel Reid won City a free kick on the left in the 14th minute.

Two minutes later and City had a corner but the home defence were able to clear with ease.

Vladimir Ghadzev did send a shot at Archer for the Sky Blues who had Lameiras and Bigirimana battling away in midfield and chasing whenever the Bulgarian lost the ball.

Then out of nothing the City support were going ballistic when Marvin Sordell, who had his best game for the Sky Blues, turned 20 odd yards out and smashed a 22nd minute stunning shot past Jordan Archer into the net, at the Cold Blow Lane End.

“We’ve scored a goal” sang the 730 strong City support who then burst into a chorus of “Twist N Shout” followed by the Sky Blue Song as another Lions chance went wide to the groans of the home support who had seen their side go a goal down in their game against a Romain Vincelot inspired Bradford City a week ago.

A poor 32nd minute clearance by Reice Charles-Cook went to O’Brien who drove across the face of the goal and was followed by Sordell with an long ranger that was not too far away.

Millwall won a corner in the 37th minute and another a minute later but City held firm with some excellent work again from Gael Bigirimana, who has tackled and passed well in the last two matches, along with James Sterry, Jordan Willis and Sam Ricketts. also dealing with a free kick.

City, in their red and black away kit, attacked the end where the City fans were for the second half and had to deal with an early Morison header from a free kick.

Lewis Page, who like Sordell was booed for his links to West Ham, by the home support, drove across the box before Reid won City a 52nd minute corner. Sordell got to Ghadzev’s flag kick but his header went just wide.

Millwall were now reduced to playing hit and hope football against a City side which should have been further ahead in the 63rd when a Reid cross found  Sordell and was deflected just wide of the far post by Craig for a corner that Ricketts headed wide.

City needed another goal, but the goal came for the visitors in the 71st minute when the ball came in from the right from Steve Morison and Aiden O'Brien got ahead of Charles-Cook to score from close range.

Jodi Jones came on for City and won a 78th minute corner as a Millwall fan who for some strange reason, especially as he was in front of his wife and four kids, spent ten minutes offering out the City support. was arrested by a posse of police officers on the track behind the goal in front of the away end.

Jones had an 83rd minute free kick brilliantly pushed over by Archer as both sides went looking for the winner that they both needed. However, there were no more goals and it was the City support who were the happier with the point from this game.