COVENTRY CITY 2-2 BLACKPOOL
TUE SEPT 27 AT The Ricoh Arena, Coventry
Team Murphy, Keogh, Hussey (Christie 66), Cranie, Cameron, Bell (Deegan 63), Clingan, McSheffrey, Thomas, Jutkiewicz, O’Donovan (Platt 78) SNU Dunn, McDonald.
Blackpool: Gilks, Cathcart, Crainey, Baptiste, Evatt (M.Phillips 79), Southern, Ferguson, Angel (Eardley 58), Sutherland, Taylor-Fletcher (Bogdanovic 70), K.Phillips. SNU Ince, Howard.
HT CCFC 0-1 BFC FT CCFC 2-2 BFC ATT 12,822
REFEREE Andy Woolmer. Assts Ian Dudley and Nigel Smith. .
BOOKED Eardley
GOALS Gareth Taylor-Fletcher (17), Gary Deegan (78), Lukas Jutkiewicz (82), Keith Southern (90+1)
MAN OF THE MATCH Nathan Cameron took the votes with nominations for Keogh, Murphy and Deegan.
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REPORT BY KEV MONKS
Coventry City were robbed of a victory tonight against Blackpool in a match that finished 2-2 at the Ricoh Arena.
On a day, where MP Damian Collins and the Football League were asking the question asked by many a City supporter in who actually owns Coventry City, Andy Thorn made changes from the team that had drawn with Reading on Saturday. Cyrus Christie was dropped down to the bench along with Cody McDonald with Nathan Cameron coming in at centre half and Roy O’Donovan going up into a three-man attack with McSheffrey and Jutkiewicz.
Ian Holloway’s team were the first to have the ball in the net in the seventh minute with Craig Sutherland beating Murphy but thankfully, it was ruled out for offside, a decision which looked marginal from my angle.
There was plenty of noise from the City supporters and the Blackpool fans in what was a reasonable gate of 12,822 on a Tuesday school and work night with both sets of supporters encouraging their team.
Lukas Jutkiewicz, who is unlikely to be joining Middlesbrough after the announcement from the North East that Tony Mowbray is no longer persuing him, worked hard throughout the game and picked out Roy O’Donovan who flashed a shot past Gillks left hand post in the tenth minute.
Murphy did well at the second attempt to deny Sutherland but could do nothing in the 17th minute when the ball went out for a throw. When it came into play, a peach of a pass picked out the unmarked Gary Taylor Fletcher just inside the area on the right of the box and he rifled in a terrific shot high into the net to give Blackpool the lead.
With Chris Hussey having a torrid time and many City supporters questioning how David Bell gets in the team after too many of his passes went straight to the opposition, City started to come back into the match in the final fifteen minutes of the first half.
O’Donovan headed wide as did Jutkiewicz, McSheffrey fired wide, Bell sent his shot after a decent run straight at Gilks, O’Donovan headed wide at the far post and two corners were won as City finished the half on top but still a goal behind.
Attacking the CT Stand for the second half, City were up against a team quite happy to time-waste. A couple of times, Gilks was told to hurry up with his goal kicks before there were big cheers when David Bell was replaced and Gary Deegan came on for his first outing of the season.
In the 66th minute, Thorn replaced Hussey with Christie and these changes gave the Sky Blues a new lease of life.
Coventry kid and City supporter Ian Evatt got injured. This stopped the game for a few minutes and when he came back on after some initial treatment, City won two corners.
Evatt had hurt himself properly this time and had to be led off the pitch. As he was walking round back towards a Main Stand, where earlier, City representatives had been trying to tap up local Asian businessmen for a few quid in the name of CCFC Asia, Thorn sent on Clive Platt for Roy O’Donovan.
The corner came in and fell to Gary Deegan who got the ball on his left and proceeded to thump a twenty yarder past Gilks and into the net.
The City supporters went mad and in the 82nd minute, our celebrations were even more raucous when Lukas Jutkiewicz got the ball on the left hand side of the area, and breezed past a defender before sending a left footed drive low into the bottom corner of the net to put City 2-1 up.
Blackpool had two misses at the other end before McSheffrey had a goal ruled out as thoughts turned to a much-needed City victory.
Quite rightly due to all the time wasting, Mr Woolmer from Northamptonshire added six minutes of additional time and in the first minute of that, Joe Murphy was clearly fouled in full view of everyone in the ground. Amazingly, instead of a free kick to City, Blackpool got a corner and from that, Keith Southern was able to head home and give Blackpool a draw when they should have been going back up the M6 with a loss.