COVENTRY CITY 2-2 COLCHESTER UNITED
City: Murphy (GK), Dickinson, Edjenguele, Martin, Christie, Jennings, Bailey, McSheffrey (Fleck 72), Baker (c), Moussa (Wilson 72), McDonald. Subs: Dunn (GK), Thomas, Bell, Willis, Stewart.
Colchester United: Walker (GK), Garmston (Compton 89), Okuonghae, Morrison (Lapado 84), Bond, Wilson, Massey, Smith (White 76), Porter, Thompson, Clifford. Subs: Cousins (GK), Wright, Heath, Bean.
HT CCFC 0-1 CUFC FT CCFC 2-2 CUFC
ATT 9,431
Goals Gavin Massey 39, Michael Smith 71, Callum Wilson 76, Carl Baker 91
Referee S.Martin
Booked Jennings
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Coventry City came back to snatch a 2-2 draw against Colchester United.
On a day when City’s owners SISU were slated in parliament and the chances of liquidation were played down by Director Mark Labovitch, the lesser spotted Colchester fan (I counted seventy in the away end just before kick off) and the hardy City support saw Steven Pressley name a City side with Cody McDonald in for the injured Leon Clarke and former Sky Blue and notorious arm waver Clinton Morrison starting for the Us.
City were straight on the attack at the end where the Colchester fans were, with Walker having to use his feet to save from Moussa and Arron Martin firing wide from the resulting corner.
In the eighth minute, Cody McDonald really should have scored when he raced through and struck Walker’s left hand post.
The visitors cleared and it was only a great saw from Joe Murphy diving to his left to a Garmston shot which stopped Joe Dunne’s side from taking the lead.
McDonald wasted another chance when clear through before Baker fired into the side netting.
Moussa did well on the left flank and was unlucky when Walker parried away his effort after Joe Murphy had picked him out with a quick throw.
Murphy pushed a shot round from Clifford but in the 39th minute, he was picking the ball out of the net when against the run of play, Colchester broke down the left and Gavin Massey beat the Irishman with a low drive.
A big seizure meant that I missed about the first ten minutes of the second half but I was back in the land of the living to see Walker block McSheffrey in the 61st minute after some good work by Baker.
Five minutes later and Carl Dickinson got into a great position but somehow fired right across the penalty area rather than at Walker’s goal.
Then out of nothing, Colchester doubled their tally in the 71st minute, when Michael Smith got the ball inside the area and fired past Murphy.
Some City supporters in the East Stand headed for the exits whilst others jeered Gary McSheffrey as he was replaced by John Fleck and Callum Wilson came on for Franck Moussa.
Callum Wilson, who played well for the U21’s against Leicester City last week, had only been on the pitch for less than five minutes when he got the ball on the right, worked his way into the area and hit a lovely shot into the far corner of the net.
This lifted the City support and the players and they started to win corners. Two came in the five minutes of stoppage time added and then there was a free kick, some twenty yards out in a central position.
Carl Baker, like many City supporters in the North Stand, spotted that Walker was badly positioned and hit it into the top right hand corner of Walker’s goal to earn City a draw.