The day Carr’s late cracker sealed thrilling comeback

THE Sky Blues pulled off a rare feat last Saturday in the home game with Blackpool – winning from 2-0 down. It was only the sixth time the club had achieved it in the last 40 years.

The last time the Sky Blues won from 2-0 down in an away league game was in a famous win at Derby’s Baseball Ground in 1970.

That night City were not only 0-2 down but had seen their new £100,000 record signing Wilf Smith carried off in the first few minutes.

Kevin Hector and Alan Hinton put the Rams 2-0 ahead inside 13

minutes but Neil Martin and Dave Clements pulled City level by half-time. Martin put City ahead early in the second half before John McGovern made it 3-3.

Bill Glazier saved a Hinton penalty before Willie Carr hit the winner two minutes from time.

Last Saturday’s win was also the first time City have come from behind to win a home league game since April 2016 when City trailed Millwall 1-0 before second-half goals from John Fleck and Marcus Tudgay gave City a 2-1 victory.

There have been comebacks away, at Swindon and Lincoln in 2017-18 and at Charlton last term, and in Cup games versus Morecambe and Wycombe.

But it is three and half years since the last home league comeback.

The Sky Blues fought out a poor 0-0 draw in their first outing in the Football League Trophy, sponsored this season by Leasing.com, against Walsall at St Andrew’s last week. Fielding a team mainly made up of youngsters, City got the extra point by virtue of winning a penalty shoot out.

It was the fourth penalty shoot-out win in a row for the club in what was the 12th shoot-out and they have all been in the Football League Trophy (FLT).

Prior to 2012, the Sky Blues had only ever taken part in three penalty shoot-outs since they were introduced into domestic games in 1976.

In 1988 City lost at Reading in a Simod Cup semi-final; in 1998 they lost to Sheffield United in an FA Cup quarter-final replay and in 2001 they won a League Cup tie at Peterborough.

Since the last defeat, in October 2015 at Yeovil in the FLT, their record has been as follows: 2016-17 Swansea (a) won 4-2 2017-18 Walsall (a) won 4-3 2018-19 Forest Green (h) won 4-2 2019-20 Walsall (h) won 4-3

Their overall record in penalty shoot-outs is played 12, won seven, lost five.