PORT VALE 3-1 COVENTRY CITY BY KEV MONKS
Another poor performance saw City beaten at Port Vale.
Well the last pre-season friendly of 2005 arrived and saw us again board a Sky Blue Trust coach and set off up the traffic heavy M6 to Port Vale.
After a unscheduled tour of most of the towns that make up Stoke On Trent,we got into the ground with seconds to spare.
With Jonny Tuffey back in Belfast on international duty and Clayton Ince on the bench after over-coming bruised ribs and fluid on the lung sustained in the defeat at Rushden on Sunday.,a new keeper was fielded in the form of Moroccan Khald. There was also another Moroccan on the bench in Seresay.
Vale were forced into a change in the opening seconds when Andy Whing clattered Jim Smith. This provoked an angry exchange and in the seventh minute,Whing was ordered to be replaced when he again was involved. One Vale player tried to kick James Scowcroft but it was the scorer of the last ever goalscorer at Highfield Road who had to be taken off under the instruction of referee Bates.
In the twelth minute, City wearing the new home kit,were a goal down when Richard Duffy went across Nathan Lowndes.
Referee Mr Bates pointed to the spot and and Tony Dinning fired home from the resulting spot kick.
Six minutes later,the League one side went further ahead when Tony Dinning was allowed space at the far post to head in a cross from the right from a couple of yards out.
If this was bad enough for the 100 or so City fans,Vale added a third goal on the half hour mark when a corner was cleared to Dinning on the left and Nathan Lowndes headed in from three yards.
City's only real efforts of a woeful first half was a 41st minute Morrell header and a Scowcroft shot which was saved by Mark Goodlad.
At the break,Adams made six changes and one of those subs Dele Adebola reduced the arrears when he held off a marker before thumping the ball high into the net from seven yards in the 52nd minute.
Goodlad pushed a Hughes effort round for a corner and then Jorgensen drilled wide. But in the 58th minute,some neat footwork by McSheffrey saw him strike a post.
Hughes saw a 70th minute effort parried and with thirteen minutes to go,Gary McSheffrey was pulled down for a penalty. He got up to take it but could only hit a poor effort which Goodlad dived to his right to save.
It was not McSheffrey's night as he wasted two more chances at the end of another poor game for which there is no excuse.
ATT 1496
Khald (ince 46),Whing (Watson 7), Duffy,Williams (shaw 46,Heath (page 46),Hughes,Scowcroft,Powell (jorgensen 46)l,John (adebola 46) ,Morrell (doyle 46),McSheffrey.
Another poor performance saw City beaten at Port Vale.
Well the last pre-season friendly of 2005 arrived and saw us again board a Sky Blue Trust coach and set off up the traffic heavy M6 to Port Vale.
After a unscheduled tour of most of the towns that make up Stoke On Trent,we got into the ground with seconds to spare.
With Jonny Tuffey back in Belfast on international duty and Clayton Ince on the bench after over-coming bruised ribs and fluid on the lung sustained in the defeat at Rushden on Sunday.,a new keeper was fielded in the form of Moroccan Khald. There was also another Moroccan on the bench in Seresay.
Vale were forced into a change in the opening seconds when Andy Whing clattered Jim Smith. This provoked an angry exchange and in the seventh minute,Whing was ordered to be replaced when he again was involved. One Vale player tried to kick James Scowcroft but it was the scorer of the last ever goalscorer at Highfield Road who had to be taken off under the instruction of referee Bates.
In the twelth minute, City wearing the new home kit,were a goal down when Richard Duffy went across Nathan Lowndes.
Referee Mr Bates pointed to the spot and and Tony Dinning fired home from the resulting spot kick.
Six minutes later,the League one side went further ahead when Tony Dinning was allowed space at the far post to head in a cross from the right from a couple of yards out.
If this was bad enough for the 100 or so City fans,Vale added a third goal on the half hour mark when a corner was cleared to Dinning on the left and Nathan Lowndes headed in from three yards.
City's only real efforts of a woeful first half was a 41st minute Morrell header and a Scowcroft shot which was saved by Mark Goodlad.
At the break,Adams made six changes and one of those subs Dele Adebola reduced the arrears when he held off a marker before thumping the ball high into the net from seven yards in the 52nd minute.
Goodlad pushed a Hughes effort round for a corner and then Jorgensen drilled wide. But in the 58th minute,some neat footwork by McSheffrey saw him strike a post.
Hughes saw a 70th minute effort parried and with thirteen minutes to go,Gary McSheffrey was pulled down for a penalty. He got up to take it but could only hit a poor effort which Goodlad dived to his right to save.
It was not McSheffrey's night as he wasted two more chances at the end of another poor game for which there is no excuse.
ATT 1496
Khald (ince 46),Whing (Watson 7), Duffy,Williams (shaw 46,Heath (page 46),Hughes,Scowcroft,Powell (jorgensen 46)l,John (adebola 46) ,Morrell (doyle 46),McSheffrey.