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| Ungrouped | By IanP | 31/01/2010 at 18:41 |
By Ian Palmer
The Sky Blues might look back on this game and wonder why they didn’t take advantage of Brett Omerod’s sending off to win all three points. In the end, they were fortunate to get a draw against the resilient Seasiders in a game where too much respect was given a side who were there for the taking. Instead of adopting an up and at 'em approach City fell deep and then had to chase the game, instead of winning it.
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| Saturday 30th January, 2010 – 15:00 – The Ricoh Arena |
| TEAM CHANGES |
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Chris Coleman named an unchanged line-up from the side that drew against Swansea in midweek.
Freddy Eastwood claimed a spot on the bench after recovering from a knee injury.
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| 1st Half |
It couldn’t have been easy for Michael McIndoe to hear the boos as his name was announced pre-match. It could have been easy for him to open the scoring as he was played through in the opening minute, only to see his effort saved by the legs of Paul Rachubka in the Blackpool goal.
Blackpool too had an early chance, but a terrific saving tackle from James McPake denied Ormerod in the City penalty area.
The bobbly pitch and packed midfield (both teams lined up with a lone striker and five across the middle) made for a scrappy opening. City limited the visitors to speculative shots whilst unable to carve out any real opportunities of their own despite showing some endeavour.
On the half hour, a mistake from Martin Cranie presented the ball to Taylor-Fletcher who dragged his shot wide. Each of the City back four made a glaring error in this match, of which none were capitalised on; a shame because otherwise they looked quite solid.
Leon Best suddenly made a burst down the left channel and bore down on Rachubka’s goal. He got a shove in the back from Alex Baptiste which unbalanced him and his left-foot shot screwed wide. Strangely, his appeals for a foul were limited to a shrug of the shoulders in the referee’s direction, when a stronger case might have been made.
Sammy Clingan still doesn’t quite look his best (understandably) since returning from injury. He was robbed of the ball by Ormerod who ran forward and sent a shot straight at Westwood. A let-off for City.
The game was beginning to open up and Aron Gunnarsson went on a purposeful run down the left. He teed up McIndoe in the area, but as the Scot controlled the ball, he was pummelled by a strong and fair tackle by Rob Edwards.
Blackpool’s loanee from Villa, Barry Bannan, was looking a bit of a menace down the left side. It was he who played in Gary Taylor-Fletcher for a one-on-one with Westwood, but City’s keeper saved well with his legs.
As half-time loomed, City went up the other end and McIndoe sent in a cross that was met by a Carl Baker glancing header that flew just wide. Baker looked a lively customer playing in behind the striker. His only problem was at times he seemed to want more time on the ball than the Blackpool players would allow.
| Half Time |
Coventry 0-0 Blackpool
| 2nd Half |
So far Chris Coleman’s tactics were proving a success. City had all but negated Blackpool’s attacking threat in the first half, whilst still able to carve out chances of their own. All they had to do in the second was take one.
But Blackpool started the second strongly. Bannan’s long ball to Taylor-Fletcher allowed the striker a poked shot from the corner of the area. As the ball looked goal-bound until Westwood flung himself across his goal to tip the ball away for a corner.
Then Blackpool came within a whisker of taking the lead. A Charlie Adam free-kick was blocked by the wall and Bannan fired in a rebound which cannoned off the underside of the bar. The Blackpool players claimed a goal, but the linesman wasn’t having any of it. They did have a case.
From a corner soon afterwards Gunnarsson found himself floored after taking a whack in the face. Referee Whitestone was quick to show a straight red card to Brett Ormerod which infuriated the Blackpool players who apparently thought that it had been Westwood that caught the Icelander.
The TV cameras missed the incident, as did Coleman. Although his comment that none of the players were talking about the incident in the dressing room afterwards would perhaps suggest that this was an accident rather than a deliberate act.
Accident or not, Blackpool were down to ten men. A groggy Gunnarsson was replaced by Gary Deegan. The sending off only served to inspire Ian Holloway’s side as they went on the offensive.
As Coleman and the City players appealed for a foul on James McPake, Bannan latched onto the ball and unleashed a stunning 30-yard volley that looped over Westwood, off the underside of the bar, and into the net to give Blackpool a lead. And a lead they perhaps deserved given their endeavour and workrate since Ormerod’s dismissal.
Coleman sent on Morrison and Eastwood to try and increase City’s firepower. Stephen Wright drove forward down the right, and his cross found Morrison in the area, but his flicked effort was straight at Rachubka.
Eastwood then tried his luck with a nonchelent shot with the outside of his boot that went narrowly wide. City continued to pour forward, and eventually got their equaliser.
A great piece of work by Baker down the right saw him beat two Blackpool players, get to the byline and pull the ball back for Gary Deegan. The Irishman’s shot hit Baptiste on the head and Rachubka couldn’t prevent the ball from squeezing over the goaline to bring City back to level terms.
Although City continued to get men forward in numbers, getting the ball up to them was proving difficult, and Blackpool were able to counter. Taylor-Fletcher and substitute Ishmel Demontagnac both saw efforts go wide of Westwood’s goal.
But City could smell all three points and went searching for them as the fouth official indicated seven minutes of injury time. Eastwood saw his shot deflected into Rachubka’s arms. McIndoe’s cross only just alluded Deegan in the area. It just wasn’t to be for Coventry.
The final whistle brought mixed emotions: frustration that City hadn’t used their man-advantage to get the win; but relief at bagging a point when Blackpool could very easily have left with all three themselves.
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| AFTER GAME QUOTES |
'I thought Blackpool were the better team in the second half.
'You often see that with 10 men so it feels like a point gained to have scored so late.
'The main thing is to keep picking up points as the table is very tight at the moment so we need to keep going.'
Ian Holloway:
'I don't think players fake it but my player's reaction (to his sending off) is that he is absolutely fuming.
'He doesn't think he caught the lad. Somebody might have.'
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| HOW THEY LINED UP |
Subs Not Used: Konstantopoulos, Hussey, Barnett, Grandison
Booked: None
Goals: Baptiste (OG) 83
Blackpool: Rachubka, Baptiste, Edwards, Crainey, Evatt, Ormerod, Southerm, Adam (Demontagnac 87), Vaughan, Bannon (Burgess 81), Taylor-Fletcher
Subs Not Used: Gilks, Martin, Euell, Nardiello, Butler
Booked: Adam
Sent Off: Ormerod
Goals: Bannan 69
Att: 16,019
Ref: D. Whitestone
Man of The Match: Barry Bannan – it pains me to say it but this Villa loanee scored a beauty of a goal, and looked threatening throughout.
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