What a match! I am so glad that I went to this game; probably one of the best games I have seen all season: our energy levels were the highest they have ever been; we looked eager; our passing was pinpoint and our passion to win the ball back and respond to conceding was amazing. We were helped along the way with some luck, however, the build-up to the goals and the manner in which we went about the game deserved everything we got.
This was our game in hand and winning it puts us three points behind Norwich and, also, we have deterred another team from competing with us to get that sixth spot. We just have to win our remaining games and turn our attention to Norwich’s results and, despite having an easier run than us, I have some hope that they will slip up.
Rosenior, serving a match ban, made one change to the starting eleven he fielded against Watford on Saturday, replacing Ozan Tufan with Liam Delap. That meant in a 4-4-2 formation, we lined up as follows: Ryan Allsop, betwixt the sticks; Matty Jacob, Alfie Jones, Jacob Greaves and Regan Slater holding the fort; Tyler Morton and Seri anchoring the middle, with Philogene and Omur on either flanks; that leaves Carvalho and Delap leading the flock.
We started the game the better side and Coventry, who seemed lethargic from their game on Sunday, were happy to soak up the pressure. But, this was a mistake as we are a possession based team and once we get the ball and settle, it is difficult to get the ball from us. When the hosts did get the ball, they did very little with it and gave it straight back to us.
Our first chance came in the 5th minute after Omur picked up the ball from outside of the box and smashed one towards goal, but it went straight at Collins, their keeper, and was cleared away for a corner. We nearly took the lead here after an accurate cross by Carvalho was met by Greaves, who put it over the bar.
The first goal was coming and after relentlessly knocking on their door for the majority of the 30 minutes, it finally opened up and Philogene was able to break the deadlock; in the 31st minute, the latter receives the ball on the right flank, cuts into the box and let's rip, which goes through the hands of Collins, their keeper, and into the back of the net. A bit fortunate, but the fact he got it on target from the position he was in was excellent.
Alas, our great spell of football was ruined by a poor decision from the referee and a great freekick from Kasey Palmer, one of their in-form players. Seri made what looked like a fair tackle on the edge of the box and got the ball, however, the referee awarded the freekick and Palmer was able to beautifully curl the ball into the top right corner, which took a slight deflection. The keeper had no chance.
Thankfully, we were able to respond well and continued to play in the same manner before they equalised. This time, it was a spot of good fortune for us as we were awarded a penalty in the 44th minute after Delap was bodied to the ground. It looked certain that Philogene was going to take it, but he handed the ball to Carvalho, who expertly smashed it into the top-left corner of the net. His celebrations were disrupted by some idiotic Coventry fans who decided to throw objects at him. Good for them, we went into the second half with the advantage.
The second half was more open and par for the course, Mark Robbins made two substitutions to his side by bringing on Ellis Simms and Haji Wright, their best players. This paid dividends in the opening 10 minutes of the second period as they equalised in the 58th minute; some great build-up play involving Wright on the left flank allowed Matt Godden to put a dangerous ball into the box which was headed into the back of the net by Thomas. This could have definitely been prevented, but it is what it is.
After this, the Sky Blues seemed to run out of energy and two injuries forced them into making two unwanted changes, which disturbed their flow; they never looked in it after the 70th minute mark. Our first chance came in the 74th minute, when the ball came out to Regan Slater who took a touch and let rip from outside of the box, but it was saved comfortably by their keeper.
We made three changes: Ryan Giles, Ozan Tufan and Noah Ohio came on for Matty Jacob, Liam Delap and Omur. Unlike Coventry, this worked in our favour as it seemed to fill our tank and we pushed for another goal. Indeed, it only took two minutes to get our noses in-front; in the 78th minute, Coventry played the ball back to the keeper, but it was short of pace and a pouncing Ohio was able to get a toe on it and stick it in the back of the net before their keeper could get to it. Brilliant–he’s done it again. This is what we brought Sharp in to do, but it seems Ohio is the impact sub.
It was squeaky bum time towards the latter stages of the game and my brother kept saying to me ‘if they can come back from being 3-0 down against Man United, they can do it to us’. Fortunately, the closest they came to was a shot from Wright in the 88th minute from 6 yards out which went very wide of the left post and another shot from a similar position in the 96th minute, which went sky high. I can see where they get the nickname ‘Sky Blues’.
Every aspect of the game was brilliant and it turned out to be a great watch; I really hope we can do this in our upcoming games. We also need to increase our goal difference because we have scored 7 fewer goals than Norwich. I am highly optimistic, but, unfortunately, I am not going to the final away game of the season against Plymouth, but will be watching from home. I guess it’s going down to the wire.