City face wait on injured duo ahead of Cardiff
POTENTIALLY CRUCIAL BLOWS FOR TIGERS
City will assess skipper Lewie Coyle and on-loan Luton Town defender Ryan Giles ahead of Saturday’s must-win game at Cardiff City.
Giles limped out early in the second of Monday night’s dramatic 3-1 defeat at Leeds United with a groin problem, and was replaced by Cyrus Christie, while Coyle damaged his back late in the contest and his absence proved crucial as the hosts scored twice in the closing moments after his departure.
City will hope both are fit to feature in South Wales in a game the Tigers must find a way to win to keep alive their hopes of a playoff finish.
Head coach Liam Rosenior, meanwhile, has explained his team selection for the Elland Road defeat which saw him spring a surprise by starting Coyle at centre-back alongside Alfie Jones, with Regan Slater playing rightback and Tyler Morton coming in alongside Jean Michael Seri.
Ozan Tufan and Abdush Omur were both restored to the starting line-up, but it was the absence of Sean Mcloughlin which raised a few eyebrows, particularly given Jacob Greaves’ suspension.
For long periods the plan worked, until Slater’s ill-timed foul on Crysencio Summerville after 88 minutes that cost his side a penalty, which the winger slammed in to make it 2-1 before Dan James fired into an empty net with Ryan Allsop having gone up for a stoppage-time corner.
“What I didn’t want to do was come here and let Leeds have control, dominate the game, they’re too good a team to allow them to do it,” Rosenior told the Mail when asked about his team selection.
“So we pressed man for man all over the pitch, we went one for one on the back line.
“I just felt the matchups of their strikers, (Georginho) Rutter’s an outstanding player, he’s physical, got great technical quality so I think it suited Alfie Jones to go and do the job on him and I just felt with (Patrick) Bamford’s movement, his quality and his pace,
I felt Coylely would be a really, really good matchup for him.
“I felt Regan was the best matchup for Summerville as well in the way that Summerville moves, Regan’s got a really low centre of gravity and like I said for 87 minutes, Regan’s performance was absolutely 10 out of 10 with and without the ball.
“We make gambles, I’m willing to gamble, maybe do things that other managers wouldn’t do and not play a centre half or play one centre half, but I thought it was the right way to go about the game.”