City get job DON!
COVENTRY City completed their best performance of pre-season last night as they dispatched MK Dons 2-0 at Nuneaton Town’s Coombe Abbey Arena.
It was the Sky Blues’ first local match of the summer, and the ‘hosts’ dominated the game from start to finish as new signing Marc McNulty provided two goals from the penalty spot, to see off the League One club.
First choice left-back Chris Stokes made a return to the starting line-up after shaking off a pre-season knock in what looks, on paper, to be Mark Robins’s strongest back four ahead of the new season with Jack Grimmer at right-back and Jordan Willis and Rod McDonald at centre-half.
Elsewhere, rookie forward Devon Kelly-Evans came in on the right of the forward three in the manager’s preferred 4-2-3-1 formation, in place of Jodi Jones who sat the game out with a slight injury.
There was also a start for summer signing from non-league Sutton United, Max Biamou, who led the line in place of Stuart Beavon who started against Barnsley on Tuesday night but dropped to the bench at the Coombe Abbey Arena.
Despite being one division below the Dons, the Sky Blues set their stall out early on as new forwards Max Biamou and McNulty, imposed themselves on the visitors’ defence with physicality and guile.
City harried and harassed the Dons into making mistakes, before capitalising in the 15th minute when Liam Kelly was brought down in the box, leaving McNulty to send the resulting spot-kick into the top corner.
The game reached half-time with the Sky Blues maintaining their dominance throughout, and unlucky not to be further ahead after MK keeper Lee Nicholls did well to deny Biamou from doubling the lead with his head.
As expected, the League One club came out with the bit between their teeth in the second-half as they looked to sharpen up on a disappointing first 45, but it was City that grabbed the next goal.
McNulty, this time winning his own spot-kick after being clipped in the area, knocked the ball past the diving Nicholls again, to make it 2-0 in the 58th minute.
From that point on City were in total control allowing for Robins to rotate his squad and throw on fresh legs to maintain the high press.
Youngsters Jordan Ponticelli and Kyle Finn were two of eleven second-half changes, as the Sky Blues romped to an impressive victory in front of just under 1000 of the Sky Blue Army.