Coventry City 0 - 3 Swindon Town

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[dutchman]

Swindon Town prove to be too good for a stuttering Sky Blues side at the Ricoh Arena



Steven Pressley admitted it was going to be a challenge against high flying Swindon Town – at 2-0 down after 18 minutes it was clear that was something of an understatement.

Coventry City's boss made three changes to his starting line-up that had kept a clean sheet at Walsall, including two to the back four where newly signed Aaron Martin returned from injury and Andy Webster from a bout of illness that kept them out against the Saddlers.

The pair were detailed to keep tabs on the hottest striker partnership in the division in 6ft 4 inch tall Michael Smith and his 16-goal foil Andy Williams, but the Robins’ leading scorer took just seven minutes to extend his tally to 17 in a miserable start at the Ricoh Arena .

His darting, perfectly timed run into the box to get on the end of a terrific Harry Toffolo cross saw him send a bullet of a header past Ryan Allsop to give the visitors the early lead.

And the 28-year-old doubled his side’s advantage inside 19 minutes from the penalty spot when back-tracking Frank Nouble shoved Louis Thompson to the deck after City’s defence were caught out by a through ball.

It seemed a bit premature to start talking about damage limitation but when 13-goal Smith passed up two gilt-edged opportunities in the 22nd and 26th minutes, steering shots wide of Allsop’s right-hand post, it was clear that Mark Cooper’s men were in no mood to take prisoners.

Toffolo was given far too much space on the left flank as Town broke at speed with plenty of options in a team brimming with the confidence of having the best away record in League One.

It certainly put a dampener on the night that had started reasonably brightly for the Sky Blues who attacked from the first whistle and carved out an excellent first chance of the match when Nouble slipped Simeon Jackson into the box, only for the striker’s angle shot to be saved by Wes Foderingham.

But as lively as City looked going forward, they were picked off far too easily at the back where they lacked shape and were given the run around at times against a free-flowing side with outstanding movement.

Nouble and Jackson worked tirelessly on a night when Gary Madine was less influential by his standards. And they kept plugging away, unlucky not to pull one back at the start of the second half when Nouble sent a low cross in to Conor Thomas who dived at the ball which was stopped on the line by the keeper.

The newly-signed forward continued to lead the fight-back, often cutting a lone furrow in from the left as the visitors appeared content to soak up the pressure, ready to pounce when the right moment arose.

But for all City’s endeavour, they simply lacked the spark that their opponents had in abundance. The 23-year-old sent in a string of crosses but each one was met by the head of a defender in a red shirt, lacking the lift to reach the increasingly frustrated Madine.

And one that did find a sky blue shirt resulted in Matthew Pennington heading over the bar.

Danny Swanson was thrown on at the expense of skipper Jim O’Brien who had run himself ragged but been unable to conjure anything from several set-pieces, slotting in on the right for the last 20-odd minutes as City desperately tried to get a foothold back in the game.

But the match fell flat as Swindon continued to contain Coventry who simply didn’t have the quality to find a way through easily the best side they have faced this season.

Rookie striker George Thomas was given ten minutes at the end, going on for Jackson, as Jonathon Obika replaced Smith for the visitors. But it was the Town substitute who wasted no time in getting into the game, rounding Allsop with his first touch and turning the ball over the line as the keeper scrambled back in a vain attempt to claw it out.

The comfortable 3-0 final scoreline was City’s heaviest of the campaign so far and ensured they stayed rooted to 18th place, having missed their opportunity to jump to tenth had they pulled off an unlikely victory following the Robins’ rampant first half showing.

Swindon, meanwhile, returned to top spot ahead of fellow promotion runaways Bristol as the night turned to protests as the fans vented their frustrations towards the club’s owners.

But on the pitch, sometimes you just have to hold up your hands and admit you have been out-classed.

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Two Coventry City fans arrested during 'Sisu Out' protests

Two Sky Blues fans were arrested during protests against the club’s owners at last night’s game against Swindon Town.

A number of the 6,000 or so Coventry City fans took part in the ‘Sisu Out’ protest during the televised clash at the Ricoh Arena, which ended in a 3-0 defeat for Steven Pressley’s men.

A 44-year-old man was arrested for throwing a missile on to the pitch and then resisting arrest, while an 18-year-old man was arrested for obstructing a police officer.

Both were questioned and then released on police bail until February 25 pending further enquiries.

West Midlands Police’s Twitter account for Coventry City tweeted: “The majority of the protest held by #ccfc supporters at the Swindon fixture was adhered to in the correct manner.

“Issues were raised with some sections of the crowd at last night’s fixture and two Coventry supporters were arrested for offences along with small pockets of fans having to be dispersed due to their threatening behaviour at the end of the game.”

The protest, spearheaded by the anonymous group Sisu Out, saw thousands of red cards with the word ‘Go’ written on them held up by supporters in the seventh minute - reflecting the number of years Sisu have owned the club.

The signs were again held up 12 minutes into the second half to mark the number of months passed since imminent details of a new land deal were promised by former CCFC director Mark Labovitch.