Magic Mifsud Inspires Coventry
By CovSid67 March 15 2007
Finally, Coventry City show some balls in a local derby! And, as a result, we earned an invaluable three points to move nearer to being mathematically clear of any relegation battle.
By CovSid67 March 15 2007
Finally, Coventry City show some balls in a local derby! And, as a result, we earned an invaluable three points to move nearer to being mathematically clear of any relegation battle.
Wolves came into this game on the back of a cracking sequence of results, though Coventry's game-plan meant Wolves rarely threatened to add another victory to that run. They rarely allowed Wolves to settle on the ball, chasing down and winning a fair number of challenges they had no right to win.
Mifsud, only playing because of an injury to McKenzie, did enough to have Iain Dowie stating he will definitely start on Saturday versus Barnsley, and was a constant nuisance to the Wolves defence throughout this match. He missed a couple of decent early chances, but, once he found his range, tested Murray on a regular basis!
Some of the link-up play between Mifsud and Adebola would suggest they might just make a decent partnership - though at least one of them would need to become a regular scorer, rather than spurning the chances they are offered (If he could get anywhere near to playing like this week-in, week-out, he would be a definite starter).
Mifsud was unlucky not to win a penalty after just five minutes (To go with two Coventry penalties not won versus Colchester at the weekend!), with the majority of the ground (Including a fair few Wolves fans) disagreeing with referee Walton's decision not to award a spot-kick.
McNamara received the first of two first half yellow cards with just over ten minutes on the clock, for a foul on Mifsud.
Some of the football played by Coventry City in the opening half-hour was as good as has been seen at the Arena this season (OK, so there's not much to compare to!), and they were rewarded with the goal they deserved on 26 minutes. Poor defending from Wolves allowed Adebola to open the scoring, with Hughes free kick ignored by all.
Edwards was booked for Wolves just before half-time, while McNamara picked up his second yellow, and a red card, for what seemed a fairly pointless foul, on the stroke of half-time - though there was just enough time left for Wolves to snatch an equaliser (Kightly doing the damage, after Marshall could only parry a Olofinjana header).
Once upon-a-time, this might have knocked the stuffing out of Coventry City .... but not under Iain Dowie's leadership. Within seconds of the re-start Coventry were on the attack, setting the tone for the majority of the second half. Wolves barely tested Marshall at all.
Adebola's near-post header was accidentally blocked by Collins, then a Doyle shot from the edge of the area flew just over the bar. Hughes also had a goalbound effort deflected wide as Coventry piled pressure on the Wolves defence.
A number of times in the second half the Wolves defence seemed to open up, with Coventry players seemingly invited to test Murray without being challenged, but for reasons best know only to the home side, said opportunities were spurned.
Birchill replaced Osbourne with just over an hour gone, after the youngster had come off worse in a challenge with a Wolves defender. Five minutes later Fadiga replaced Jay Tabb.
With just over 20 minutes left, the home side scored the goal their play richly deserved. Once again a decent Hughes corner caused problems in the Wolves defence, and the ball ended up yards out at the feet of Elliott Ward. He smashed the ball past Murray (Making up for his unfortunate own-goal earlier in the season in the reverse fixture), then proceeded to carry out a bizarre celebration, that probably had something to do with Cheltenham!
Former CCFC player Jay Bothroyd - slayer of local rivals WBA two days before - was sent on by Mick McCarthy, with his entrance resulting in prolonged barracking from a fair few home supporters.
Plenty of chances to put the result beyond doubt were wasted, with Mifsud forcing Murray to make a fine save, while Doyle failed to find the target, and on another day he might have scored an unlikely hat-trick.
Murray picked up an injury after being (Fairly) challenged by Adebola, with the referee allowing play to continue 'til it looked as if the home side might have a shot. With Wolves having opted to kick a drop-ball out for a throw-in, rather than pass the ball back to Marshall, Doyle gained his revenge by signalling to Murray that he was going to pass to him, before also opting to kick the ball out for a throw-in!
Mifsud was given a glorious chance to score, almost seizing on an error, but slipping over at the vital moment. This almost proved costly, as a quality Bothroyd effort from a free-kick finally tested Marshall, though thankfully the rebound was hacked clear by a Coventry defender.
The final whistle blew, and the majority of a disappointing crowd of 22,099 (No, I don't believe that figure either!) went home happy.
Unsung hero Colin Hawkins was immense at the back, while Stephen Hughes enjoyed his best game for months (Years?) in the heart of the Coventry midfield.
That's eleven points from fifteen on offer under the new management team, and, as I've asked before, you really do have to wonder where we might be had we appointed Iain Dowie a month sooner....
Wolves fans point to the fact Coventry City wouldn't move the fixture as part of the reason they lost - but why should we? What sort of mug assists the opposition?! Maybe we could have just given them a goal start instead? They did get an extra fifteen minutes to aid their recovery after Sunday's match versus WBA!!
Fair play to the majority of Wolves supporters, who accepted the result with good grace, and admitted the better team won.
Mifsud, only playing because of an injury to McKenzie, did enough to have Iain Dowie stating he will definitely start on Saturday versus Barnsley, and was a constant nuisance to the Wolves defence throughout this match. He missed a couple of decent early chances, but, once he found his range, tested Murray on a regular basis!
Some of the link-up play between Mifsud and Adebola would suggest they might just make a decent partnership - though at least one of them would need to become a regular scorer, rather than spurning the chances they are offered (If he could get anywhere near to playing like this week-in, week-out, he would be a definite starter).
Mifsud was unlucky not to win a penalty after just five minutes (To go with two Coventry penalties not won versus Colchester at the weekend!), with the majority of the ground (Including a fair few Wolves fans) disagreeing with referee Walton's decision not to award a spot-kick.
McNamara received the first of two first half yellow cards with just over ten minutes on the clock, for a foul on Mifsud.
Some of the football played by Coventry City in the opening half-hour was as good as has been seen at the Arena this season (OK, so there's not much to compare to!), and they were rewarded with the goal they deserved on 26 minutes. Poor defending from Wolves allowed Adebola to open the scoring, with Hughes free kick ignored by all.
Edwards was booked for Wolves just before half-time, while McNamara picked up his second yellow, and a red card, for what seemed a fairly pointless foul, on the stroke of half-time - though there was just enough time left for Wolves to snatch an equaliser (Kightly doing the damage, after Marshall could only parry a Olofinjana header).
Once upon-a-time, this might have knocked the stuffing out of Coventry City .... but not under Iain Dowie's leadership. Within seconds of the re-start Coventry were on the attack, setting the tone for the majority of the second half. Wolves barely tested Marshall at all.
Adebola's near-post header was accidentally blocked by Collins, then a Doyle shot from the edge of the area flew just over the bar. Hughes also had a goalbound effort deflected wide as Coventry piled pressure on the Wolves defence.
A number of times in the second half the Wolves defence seemed to open up, with Coventry players seemingly invited to test Murray without being challenged, but for reasons best know only to the home side, said opportunities were spurned.
Birchill replaced Osbourne with just over an hour gone, after the youngster had come off worse in a challenge with a Wolves defender. Five minutes later Fadiga replaced Jay Tabb.
With just over 20 minutes left, the home side scored the goal their play richly deserved. Once again a decent Hughes corner caused problems in the Wolves defence, and the ball ended up yards out at the feet of Elliott Ward. He smashed the ball past Murray (Making up for his unfortunate own-goal earlier in the season in the reverse fixture), then proceeded to carry out a bizarre celebration, that probably had something to do with Cheltenham!
Former CCFC player Jay Bothroyd - slayer of local rivals WBA two days before - was sent on by Mick McCarthy, with his entrance resulting in prolonged barracking from a fair few home supporters.
Plenty of chances to put the result beyond doubt were wasted, with Mifsud forcing Murray to make a fine save, while Doyle failed to find the target, and on another day he might have scored an unlikely hat-trick.
Murray picked up an injury after being (Fairly) challenged by Adebola, with the referee allowing play to continue 'til it looked as if the home side might have a shot. With Wolves having opted to kick a drop-ball out for a throw-in, rather than pass the ball back to Marshall, Doyle gained his revenge by signalling to Murray that he was going to pass to him, before also opting to kick the ball out for a throw-in!
Mifsud was given a glorious chance to score, almost seizing on an error, but slipping over at the vital moment. This almost proved costly, as a quality Bothroyd effort from a free-kick finally tested Marshall, though thankfully the rebound was hacked clear by a Coventry defender.
The final whistle blew, and the majority of a disappointing crowd of 22,099 (No, I don't believe that figure either!) went home happy.
Unsung hero Colin Hawkins was immense at the back, while Stephen Hughes enjoyed his best game for months (Years?) in the heart of the Coventry midfield.
That's eleven points from fifteen on offer under the new management team, and, as I've asked before, you really do have to wonder where we might be had we appointed Iain Dowie a month sooner....
Wolves fans point to the fact Coventry City wouldn't move the fixture as part of the reason they lost - but why should we? What sort of mug assists the opposition?! Maybe we could have just given them a goal start instead? They did get an extra fifteen minutes to aid their recovery after Sunday's match versus WBA!!
Fair play to the majority of Wolves supporters, who accepted the result with good grace, and admitted the better team won.
Bookmark or share this story with:
Digg
Delicious
Facebook
Reddit
Stumbleupon
More Coventry City headlines
Coventry City latest threads
Coventry City Poll
