COVENTRY CITY 2-1 PRESTON NORTH END BY KEV MONKS
Team
Konstantopolous,Osbourne,Hall,Ward,Borrowdale,Hughes, Doyle,Tabb (Cairo 72),Gray,Adebola, McKenzie (Mifsud 65) SNU Marshall,De Zeeuw,Simpson
Preston
Lonergan,Davidson,Pugh (Whaley 83),Mawene,Sedgewick,Agyemang (Ormerod 75), Carter,Chilvers,Jones,Nicholls,Carroll (Gallagher 69) SNU Neal,Hill
HT CCFC 0-1 PNE FT CCFC 2-1 PNE
ATT 17,551
Referee A.Taylor
Booked Mawene, McKenzie
Goals Patrick Agyemang (15),Dele Adebola (80), Michael Doyle (85)
Man Of The Match - Marcus Hall took the votes from Mifsud,Adebola and Hughes.
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STARTING FORMATION
McKenzie Adebola
Gray S.Hughes Doyle Tabb
Borrowdale Hall Ward Osbourne
DIMI
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WEATHER
A cloudy early evening with the odd spit of rain.
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CITY SUPPORT
A good turn out considering the stupid time this game kicked off thanks to Sky TV. Noisy,certainly in the second half and this supported helped the team.
Unfortunately,after the game, one coach of Preston fans was targeted and bricked and coined by a group of youths
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Coventry City left it late to roar back to the top of the league with a 2-1 win against Preston North End.
Iain Dowie,who was named Manager Of The Month on Thursday kept the same team which had won at Cardiff whilst Preston boss brought in Billy Jones for the departed Cov kid Graham Alexander and had new boy Paul Gallagher on the bench.
With Sky decreeing that the game could finally go ahead at 5.20pm, City started brightly attacking the Jewson Stand.
However,Preston who have a good record against the Sky Blues in Coventry, had other ideas and in the 15th minute took the lead when a poor clearance by Dimi fell for Patrick Agyemang who beat off the challenge of Marcus Hall and drove the ball into the net for Preston's first league goal of the season.
It looked like the curse of the Manager Of The Month was about to strike as Preston closed down the midfield and restricted City from playing their attacking brand of football.
One rare attack did see Julian Gray have a rare header headed away a yard off the line in the 28th minute after Carter had headed off his line
Just before the break, the former Birmingham player sent over a cross which was grabbed by Lonergan.
Apart from the win at Cardiff,City have proved to be better in the second half and again whatever,Dowie and his backroom staff said at the break worked.
Leon McKenzie was cautioned for a foul on the impressive Liam Chilvers as the second half restarted.
Marcus Hall who was my man of the match nearly had City on level terms in the 48th minute. Unfortunately, his header from around the centre spot from a Michael Doyle corner,crashed against the crossbar.
Some of City's crosses were too close to Lonergan but at least they were now attacking. In fact, it was one way traffic as Julian Gray started to put over some excellent crosses.
With Iain Dowie kicking every ball in the technical area and the City support calling for Michael Mifsud who had earned City a League Cup Third Round tie at Manchester United with a brace against Carlisle, Leon McKenzie out jumped the Preston keeper but saw his 53rd minute shot cleared for a corner
In the 65th minute, the City support got their wish. Michael Mifsud was brought on for Leon McKenzie. As if by magic, the appearance of the Maltese Falcon transformed the team.
Dele Adebola really started to make a nuisance of himself in the midst of the Preston defence whilst Mifsud's pace started to give City the upper hand.
Jay Tabb had constantly been forced inside and he made way in the 72nd minute for Ellery Cairo.
City kept pressing with a Mifsud run and shot going over,Adebola heading over an Osbourne cross and Mifsud nodding over from a Cairo cross.
Then,with ten minutes to go,the Sky Blues were level. Stephen Hughes found Dele Adebola inside the area. The Nigerian turned to control the ball and thump a low drive into the net.
"Save The Best Until Last" is not a phrase normally associated with Coventry City but five minutes after the goal, the City support,players and management were going mental when Stephen Hughes slipped the ball over to Michael Doyle. The Irishman was at least thirty yards out. He steadied himself with three touches and then let rip with a left footed drive.
It flew like an exocet missile with it's target clearly marked. Lonergan went the right way but could do nothing as the ball zoomed straight into the top of the net.
It was a goal worthy of winning any game and so it proved as City controlled the game to pick up another win and keep their place at the top of the Championship table for another fortnight.