COVENTRY CITY RESERVES 0-2 CHELSEA BY KEV MONKS
A youthful Coventry City Reserves crashed to their third consecutive defeat under Alan Cork,losing at home to an equally youthful Chelsea.
With the first team in action against Wigan on Wednesday,Micky Adams avoided all first team squad players and left Cork to field a side made up of Academy players plus the likes of Craig Reid, Liam Nicell and Sean Cooney. Keeper Jonny Tuffey was playing for Northern Ireland U19' s in a 1-0 defeat against Scotland at Glentoran and Luke Steele not available,so Cork gave a debut to Cameron Belford.
Chelsea boss Mick McGiven had the same problem with Jose Mourinho including four reserve team players in his side to play at Barcelona in the Champions League also on Wednesday.
With a bumper crowd which included Micky Adams (who for some reason needed two stewards to accompany him to his seat in the Main Stand), Sheffield Wednesday boss Paul Sturrock and a scout from Charlton, all shivering on what was a cold night at Manor Park,Chelsea attacked first winning a fourth minute corner thanks to a Sean Cooney back header.
Defender Tim Partridge was on hand to clear the danger and he banged the ball up for Liam Davis on the left wing to send over a cross which was hacked away for a corner to City.
Andy Hall was again working hard in the five man City midfielder but in the ninth minute he gave away a point less free kick which ended up being cleared for a corner by Ryan Lynch. Filipe Oliveira took the kick and found Anthony Grant who side footed the ball against Belford's left hand post.
Hall was involved in the 21st minute when he fired high and wide from twenty yards after Craig Reid who was on his own up front had done well to shield the ball from the visiting keeper and defenders.
Apart from one corner,City were again as lacklustre in going forward as they had been at Crystal Palace last Tuesday as the visitors who had Grant booked for a trip on Andy Hall forced a couple of corners before the interval.
Those who had forked out ten pounds to watch this game on Chelsea TV live must have been as cheesed off as the rest of us watching another poor game between two poor sides.
With the weather now starting to worsen and snow showers adding to the light sprinkling of snow already on the pitch, Adrian Pettigrew played in Danny Woodwards who advanced before hitting a thirty yarder which deflected off Sean Cooney and went past the flat footed Belford and gave the Aldershot based outfit the lead.
With McGiven replacing Sam Tillen and Anthony Grant, Chelsea won three corners in quick succession before Cork took off Anthony Barry and brought on Vijay Sidhu.
Dean Furman and Filipe Oliveira both were cautioned by referee Wayne McIntosh for needless fouls as City tried vainly to get back in the match.
All they could muster was a lovely touch from Craig Reid who controlled the ball before firing a right footed effort from twelve yards which Chelsea's young keeper James Russell dived to pounce on.
With nine minutes left, Chelsea wrapped up the match when a Woodwards header was not cleared,Dean Furman blasted a left footed shot through a crowd of players in the penalty area before Adrian Pettigrew stabbed the ball into the net.
Pettigrew ended up under a pile of bodies as the visitors celebrated the goal in a style that the village idiot mark two whom we had the misfortune of standing next to, thought was a "Roman Orgy"
When Pettigrew returned to the centre circle, he was met by a chant of "You'll Never Make The First Team" by some disgruntled City supporters who were fed up of watching another poor performance from a City reserve team and one which shows exactly why Micky Adams has to strength the first team squad due a dearth of talent coming through from the reserves.
HT CCFC 0-0 CFC FT CCFC 0-2 CFC
ATT 363
GOALS Danny Woodards (54),Adrian Pettigrew (81)
Booked Grant,Furman,Hollands
Man Of The Match - Liam Davis,Andy Hall and Liam Nicell all did well.
TEAM
Belfield, Partridge, Lynch, Gooding, Cooney, Wall, Hall (O’Toole 88), Barry (Sidhu 67), Reid, Nicell, Davis (Bains 88). SNU McCrink,Ogarro
Chelsea
Russell, D.Smith, S.Tillen (J.Tillen 59), Pettigrew, Mancienne, Grant (Furman 58), Oliveira,Woodards, Kneissl (Simmonds 90), Hollands, J.Smith. SNU J.Younghusband, P.Younghusband