Kyle: I was confident from start we had a real chance
KYLE Mcfadzean insists he was confident Coventry City had a real chance to contest the play-off final at the start of the season.
Speaking after the semi-final victory over Middlesbrough, Mcfadzean said: “I said at the start of the season we had a real good chance.
“Obviously we had a bad start but I knew we were a good enough team. I’m so buzzing.
“They’ve all been tight, our games against Middlesbrough this season, but we stood up to the task and I thought we did well and defended well. I knew we’d score on the counter-attack.”
Football pundits queued up to salute Mark Robins’ performance after the Sky Blues seal their date with Luton Town in the Championship play-off final.
Robins signed a new four-year deal before taking his team to Teesside and former Peterborough United hitman Aaron Mclean declared: “That’s huge – he’s been brilliant since he’s been there.
“He’s going for three promotions in six years; he’s transformed the fortunes of that football club and now they’re trying to get back to where Coventry fans believe they belong, the Premier League.”
Having been held to a 0-0 draw at the CBS Arena, City tipped the second-leg scales by denying Boro’s potent attack a home goal for the first time since Michael Carrick replaced Chris Wilder at The Riverside in October.
“It was a brilliant, brilliant performance from Coventry,” added Mclean, “’they got their game-plan spot on.
“Defensively they were excellent. Their back five, their back three in particular, were absolutely magnificent – the intensity in their defending, putting their bodies on the line and making sure there was no space for the likes of Archer or Akpom to really get going and get their fluency.
“They’ve scored goals all season – Akpom 28 league goals – but their defence was magnificent.
“Coventry had won three out of their last five games going into the playoffs and they continued that momentum.
“They went with Gyokeres up front on his own but he was a handful the whole night, constantly asking questions of the Middlesbrough back line.
“When Hamer gets in that goalscoring
position he doesn’t panic, he takes his time, makes sure he gets it out of his feet, gets the space and gets a good connection and good accuracy on it.
“That’s his tenth goal of the season and eight goal involvements in his last seven games so it just shows his importance.” Former Sky Blues favourite Gary Mcsheffrey said: “Mark Robins has really built a siege mentality with this group of players – they have had everything
go against them and they have used it all as armoury in their favour.
“Hats off to them, they work their socks off.
“They are the heartbeat of a city – they have united Coventry as one.
“Liam Kelly was brilliant, he covered every blade of grass.
“Everyone was going a little bit gung-ho in the last minutes but he was a real leader out there.”
Jobi Mcanuff, who chalked up over 750 games as a player before a brief managerial spell with Leyton Orient, said: “Coventry were tactically absolutely perfect in both legs because this is such a potent attacking force.”
They’ve all been tight, our games against Middlesbrough this season, but we stood up to the task. I knew we’d score. Kyle Mcfadzean