Last Ever Night League Match At Highfield Road Brings A Victory

Last updated : 07 April 2005 By Covsupport
COVENTRY CITY 2-0 NOTTINGHAM FOREST BY KEV MONKS
Coventry City won their last ever night league match at Highfield Road with a 2-0 victory over Nottingham Forest.

Both sides went into the game knowing that victory was crucial to ensuring their
Championship status continued for another season. Micky Adams made one change from the side which had beaten Brighton with Dele Adebola replacing Claus Jorgensen.

For what was the last night league game at Highfield Road and the importance of the game, the biggest crowd of the season duly packed into Highfield Road of the season with 3,900 Forest fans adding to the electric atmosphere.

After an early corner for the visitors, the Sky Blues started to take the game to their opponents. Dele Adebola nodded wide from an 11th minute cross from Lloyd Dyer and six minutes later, Shaun Goater won City a corner which hit the chest of Richard
Duffy and went out for a corner.

Dyer,down the left flank was starting to worry the visitors and in the 18th minute, Kris Commons was cautioned for a late tackle on the loanee from West Brom.

City needed an early goal and in the 21st minute,it duly arrived. A long Steve Staunton kick was pumped into the penalty area just missing Stephen Hughes who ended up in the net. The ball was cleared by Matthieu Louis Jean but hit Gareth Taylor on the hand.
Referee Andy D'Urso pointed straight to the penalty spot and cautioned the former Burnley striker who was sent off in the game at the City ground back in August.

Despite Forest keeper Paul Gerrard prancing about on the line,Gary McSheffrey kept his cool and smashed the ball high into the net.

You could see the sighs of relief all the way around the home areas and the goal sought to calm the City players down and let them get on with their game.

This they did with a McSheffrey shot on the half hour mark being grabbed by Gerrard at the second attempt as Goater closed in.
City's goalscorer became the third player cautioned in the 36th minute when he chased after an over hit ball in front of the West Terrace but succeeded in bringing down Andy Melville.

With Hughes and Doyle running the midfield, Robert Page in control at the back and Dele and McSheffrey giving the Forest defence food for thought,
it was no surprise that City went further ahead.
Five minutes before the break, Dele Adebola who again was in fine form, collected the ball, raced into the penalty area and skipped past two defenders before slotting the ball under Gerrard and into the net.

Now with a side managed by Gary Megson, you would normally expect some fight, but whilst Megson may have been a hero during his time at West Brom, his latest charges, failed to tear into City in the second half as I had feared

As one visiting supporter was being ejected, Luke Steele easily dealt with a corner.

In the 53rd minute, Gary McSheffrey had a shot palmed down by Gerrard before Lloyd Dyer went wide.

Megson made two changes but both Bopp and Gardner were no better than Powell and Robertson whom they had replaced.

By now, the City supporters were thoroughly enjoying the occasion with West Enders breaking into Mexican waves and chants of "You're Not Famous Anymore" directed at the away supporters.

The chants continued and one of "Stand Up If You love City" being joined in all around the ground,as was a chorus of "Micky Adams Sky Blue Army".

In the 71st minute, Gary McSheffrey should have finished off the game when he was played in by a lovely through ball from Michael Doyle. McSheffrey had only Gerrard to beat but his shot from the edge of the area was parried away by the left hand of Gerrard.

A minute later and Adams made his first change of the night replacing Goater with Benjamin.

A rare Forest attack in the 78th minute saw a combination of Robert Page using his arm and Luke Steele clear the ball. The Forest fans appealed for a penalty, thankfully both the referee and his assistant missed the incident.

What had been a good performance from Stephen Hughes turned sour in the 83rd minute when he was firstly cautioned for a late tackle on James Perch and then was stretchered off after crashing to the ground with a leg injury.

Hughes left to a standing ovation and was dispatched to hospital in an ambulance amid fears that that might be the last time we see him in a Sky Blues shirt.

Isaac Osbourne replaced the midfielder who was reported to be interesting Sunderland and Andy Whing came on for Lloyd Dyer.
To their credit, the Forest fans who had not already headed for the pub or home, were now in an ironic mood and were cheering after one shot on goal from Commons and in the last minute when a Scott Dobie header rattled the crossbar.

They treated their players to chants of "What A load Of Rubbish" on the final whistle whilst the City fans headed for home,happy after a good nights work which eases the threat of relegation.

HT CCFC 2-0 NFFC FT CCFC 2-0 NFFC
ATT 22,221
GOALS Gary McSheffrey (22 mins pen)
Dele Adebola (40 mins)
Booked Commons,Taylor,McSheffrey,Hughes
Man Of The Match - Dele Adebola just shaded Stephen Hughes.
TEAM
Steele,Staunton,Duffy,Page,Hall,Doyle,
Dyer (Whing 85),McSheffrey,Hughes (Osbourne 85),Goater (Benjamin 73),Adebola SNU Pressman,John