Sky Blues at the double for back-to-back wins at Ricoh
CITY NOTCH UP FIFTH CLEAN SHEET IN WIN THAT LIFTS THEM INTO PLAY-OFF PLACES
COVENTRY City recorded another valuable three points and an impressive fifth clean sheet of the season by seeing off Carlisle United at the Ricoh Arena.
Goals from Duckens Nazon and Peter Vincenti finally put the Cumbrians to the sword after a dismal first half to secure back-to-back home wins for the Sky Blues and a result that lifts them up into the playoff places to fifth place in the table after seven games.
Both keepers made good saves to ensure a goalless and otherwise poor first half with neither side giving much away and very little quality on show in a typically scrappy League Two affair.
But a good old-fashioned halftime team-talk appeared to do the trick as City came out and grabbed the lead within two minutes of the restart, Duckens Nazon almost bursting the net after being played through brilliantly by Liam Kelly.
Peter Vincenti then scored his first goal for the club to secure the points in a vastly improved second half when City attacked at will with a number of flowing moves that were in stark contrast to the opening 45.
Robins was forced into three changes to his line-up, with strikers Stuart Beavon and Duckens Nazon coming in for the injured Tony Andreu and Marc McNulty, while Tom Davies came in for the suspended Rod McDonald at the heart of the City back four.
Teenage striker Jordan Ponticelli and last season’s Under-18s skipper and central midfielder Tom Bayliss stepped up to the bench.
Meanwhile, Cumbrians’ boss Keith Curle made six changes to the side that let him and their fans down at Accrington at the weekend.
Not surprisingly the visitors took a rather cautious approach early on, playing largely on the counter attack as City attempted to take the game to them with promising runs from Jodi Jones and Nazon resulting in both forwards being out-muscled in or around the box.
But it was Curle’s men who were the first to test the keeper with a worryingly comfortable move that allowed winger Nicky Adams to feed danger man Jamie Devitt who hit a terrific shot that was saved brilliant by Burge with a strong left hand.
That sparked an exciting counter attack with Jack Grimmer racing 40 yards upfield, getting past his marker and slipping the ball to Beavon who couldn’t get any power behind his shot with the outside of his boot, the effort going straight to Shamal George in the Cumbrians’ goal.
City were getting little joy on the attack in the opening 20 minutes and the front four responded by adopting a fluid approach and swapping positions on several occasions.
And that worked to good effect when Nazon, who drifted out wide to the left for a few minutes, cut in to the byline and pulled a lovely ball back for Liam Kelly who slipped as he raced in to connect and sent his shot high and wide.
Jones started the game out wide on the left, had a brief spell in the hole and then went to the right but United kept close tabs on the leading scorer, often doubling up on him to nullify his threat in what panned out as a tight half with very little to choose between the sides.
City produced an impressive fourman move that resulted in Peter Vincenti springing Jones free on the right with an inch-perfect diagonal but the forward’s final ball was woeful. Beavon did better a minute later when Grimmer raced down the left and slipped the ball inside to the striker who turned his marker and hit a powerful left-footed shot at goal, only to be denied by keeper George.
The team came out early for the second half and promptly set about putting things right when Kelly sent a superb defence-splitting ball to Nazon’s feet just outside the D. The on-loan Wolves’ striker steadied himself and wriggled into space before unleashing a net-bursting shot past the keeper barely two minutes into the re-start.
That sparked the sparse crowd into life on a damp night of swirling rain before City’s injury problems went from bad to worse when the goal-scorer pulled up injured with what looked like a hamstring strain.
Nazon limped off, replaced by Maxime Biamou who was making a rare appearance.
Jones looked far livelier after the break and cut in from the right before forcing George into an impressive save at his near post, only to get a second bite of the cherry and promptly waste it by scooping the ball high over the bar.
But there was a marked improvement from the Sky Blues who
But a good oldfashioned half-time team-talk appeared to do the trick as City grabbed the lead within two minutes of the restart.
enjoyed far more possession and attacked with purpose.
And City looked like they were going to double their advantage in the 70th minute when the impressive Biamou played a sublime pass to Beavon, who flicked it wide to the unmarked Jones, who had to control it first with just the keeper to beat.
But with George racing out to narrow the angle, the forward was forced to shoot early, opting to curl round the stopper, which he did but with little power behind the ball which was cleared by a back-tracking defender as it tricked towards the empty net.
Robins’s men kept up the pressure with a number of sweeping attacks as they looked to secure the points, Grimmer going close when he slid in at the near post to get on the end of a Beavon centre, only to see the ball blocked out for a corner, the result of which saw Vincenti head straight at the keeper.
But the summer signing from Rochdale made no mistake in the 80th minute when he volleyed home at the back post after a terrific turn of pace and skill from Jones to get past his man on the right and send in a deep cross. It was Vincenti’s first goal for the club and topped a decent night for the player. City continued to dominate aside from the odd foray at the other end, the best of which saw Tom Parkes rattle the crossbar from 25 yards. But Coventry were by far the better of the two sides and thoroughly deserved their victory in the end, which could have been by a greater margin given the amount of shots at goal.